Hunted
by RoseDragonWitch
Summary: During a hunting trip, Kagome's family go after a half wolf/half dog called 'Quicksilver'. One night she turns into a wolf after wearing a strange jewel to bed; now she ends up crossing paths with the legendary dog and sees what it's like to hunted.
1. Season of Changes

Summary: During a hunting trip, Kagome and her family go after a half wolf/ half dog called 'Quicksilver'. One night, she turns into a wolf after wearing a strange jewel to bed, causing other hunters to go after her. Kagome crosses paths with the legendary dog and ends up realizing what it's really like to be 'Hunted'.

**_Chapter 1: Season of Changes_**

**_(Writing a story down on paper is very different than telling it out loud. When a story is on paper, you can feel it, you can see it, and imagine the story in your mind. We all love stories. Because it's our way to leave reality behind… and enter a world where anything can happen. But beware. For once a story's been written, it doesn't belong to the author anymore; it gains a life of its own. And for some stories that can be a very dangerous life indeed.)_**

It seemed like any other November day to high school student Kagome Higurashi. Her annoying alarm clock woke her up as usual; and then she would get ready for school. She would make her bed, take a shower, brushed her teeth, combed out her hair, got dressed, and ate breakfast. Then it was out the door for her to take the 10 minute walk to school. The routine was always the same thing; never touched and it became like second nature. She done this so often that it was like she was stuck in a trench that she made herself, and not able to get out.

"Kagome! Kagome! Could you please come down here a minute?" her mother called up from the bottom of the stairs.

"Sure, Mama, what is it?" Kagome calls down.

"Kagome, I know this is last minute but could you please walk Sota to school today?" her mother asked as she wiped her hands on her apron.

"Mom, isn't Sota old enough to walk by himself? I started walking to school by myself when I was only 10," Kagome complained as she reached for her long winter coat.

"I know, but please? You know how your brother doesn't like to be left alone," mom said simply. "Besides, Sota's school is on the way to yours."

"But Mama…" Kagome whined.

"Please just do me this favor, Kagome. I'm afraid that I'm too busy to do it myself. I was called in for work because someone's sick. Your father will be here by the time that you get home today and he said that he had a big surprise for all of us," her mother replied as she headed back to the kitchen.

"Fine. But Sota owes me one though," Kagome mumbles grumpily, but she then brightened and asked, "Dad's coming back?"

"Yes, dear," mom said happily. "He should be here by the time that you both get home. But you know how bad the traffic is on a Monday."

"Did daddy say what the surprise will be?" Kagome asked hopefully.

Her mother raised her eyebrows at her before saying, "Even if I knew it, I wouldn't tell you. That would ruin the effect of a surprise wouldn't it? But he did said that it had something to do with this weekend."

"I love daddy's surprises. Speaking of surprises… SOTA! GET UP SOTA! IT'S TIME TO LEAVE!" Kagome shouts up to her little brother.

_*At school*_

Kagome had dropped Sota off at elementary school and she was running up stairs of her high school building. Damn! She knew that waiting for Sota was going to make her late. She ran and fought her way through the sea of students until she finally found her locker. She slid to a stop in front of it and began to hurry with the combination.

"You know…" said a calm voice from behind her, "You don't need to hurry. You have substitute today in math class."

Kagome looked up to see her friend Kikyo standing there.

"Oh, Kikyo," Kagome said in surprise.

Kagome and Kikyo had been friends since they met their first day as freshmen. What really got people were that they both looked so much alike that they sometimes got mistaken for sisters. Back then, Kikyo had been cold and unfeeling to her for the first couple of weeks, but they were forced to get to know each other since they had most of their classes together, and over time, Kikyo eventfully warmed up to her.

Kikyo gave her a small smile and opened her own locker, which was only two lockers away, to get her bow and arrows.

"I see that someone made the archery team," Kagome said smirking.

Kikyo shrugged, "Finally. I was beginning to think that the guy in charge just didn't like me."

"Oh, come on. We both know that he just doesn't like the idea that a girl can shoot better than him," Kagome said matter-of-factly. "Do I really have a sub today in math?"

"That's what I heard some of the other teachers say," Kikyo answered. "Apparently your regular teacher had a family emergency and is out today."

"Well, that's a relief. Hey, Kikyo guess what?" Kagome said excitedly. "My dad's finally coming back today!"

"Really? That's good to hear," Kikyo said. "Remind me though, where has he been again?"

"He was off hunting with some old friends all week," Kagome replied.

"Oh," Kikyo grunted. For the first time, she sounded bitter. But before Kagome could ask what the problem was, the 5 minute bell rang and all the students around them all began to make way for the stairs.

"Good luck swimming upstream," Kikyo said gesturing towards the flood of students that were all jammed, blocking the stairway.

"Thanks, and good luck not freezing to death outside," Kagome retorted. She waved goodbye to Kikyo and went running off to math. Normally, she hated math more than any other class and went there grumpy and tired. But today she couldn't wait to get home and see her dad; so when she entered her first class, she was grinning ear to ear.

_*Later*_

Kagome said goodbye to Kikyo and all of her other friends kinda hastily. She wanted to get home as soon as she possibility could. She waited impatiently to pick up her brother who gave her a hurried apology and then they raced home.

Just as she had been hoping for—her dad was standing in the driveway hugging mom. He was still dressed in his hunters' clothes so he must've just got back. "Daddy!" Kagome screamed as she and Sota went running up to greet him.

He turned around and gave them both a big goofy grin as he held his arms, waiting for their hugs.

"Kagome! Sota!" he called out happily. "How are my favorite kids doing?"

"We're your only kid's dad!" Sota yelled as they both flung out their arms and ran into their father's waiting embrace. The hug lasted a few minutes before he pushed them both apart to get a better look at them. "Why Kagome," he said grinning like a manic, "You look more beautiful every time I see you. I'm sure that you're a real heart-breaker at school. As for you Sota, I swear that the last time I saw you, you were a foot shorter. God, you kids grow up so fast. Pretty soon, I'll be threatening the poor boy that you bring home Kagome."

"Dad!" Kagome said turning slightly red. When she was in her father's arms, Kagome thought that he smelt a bit like gunpowder and dead leaves. "How was your hunting trip dad?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

He clapped his hands together and said happily. "Oh, it went real well. Still haven't caught the big prize yet… but there's always next time."

At that moment, Kagome noticed that there was something in the pick-up truck that her dad drives. She looked over his shoulder to see that there was a large black tarp covering up something. Sota was too busy bombarding dad with a million questions to notice what his sister was looking at.

"Hey dad! Did you catch something?" he asked excited.

"Well," her dad said happily. "I've had worse days. But not many. At least I managed to bring something back with me to prove that it wasn't a complete waste of time."

Kagome looked over the edge of the car to get a better look at what was in the back… and just sticking out from under the cover… was a dog's paw… a dead dog.

"I swear that there is no greater sport than hunting and camping. Especially if you're hunting for the wolf pack in the Areno Forest" she heard her dad say.

"Areno?" Sota asked. "Doesn't Areno mean 'wilderness' in Japanese?"

"Yes," dad replied. "And rightly named. Wilderness is the right word. It's miles and miles of nothing but dangerous woods, cliffs, canyons, swamps, and almost every other kind of terrain imaginable. If you aren't careful, those woods can kill you."

"And is that where you go every year dad?" Sota asked with wide eyes.

"Yep," dad said smugly. "See, there's this wolf pack that lives up there and this is hunting season. But these wolves are smart and very difficult to catch. Most of the time, it feels like they're the ones who are hunting us. Only the best of the best hunters can get these guys."

"Y-you mean like this one?" Kagome whispered, pointing at the paw sticking out from underneath the tarp.

"Oh, noticed this little trophy did you?" her dad asked proudly. "No, I didn't kill it. I helped trap it though. One of my buddies was the one responsible for killing it. I believe that you remember Nobunaga and his son Hojo? They came with me this time and they're the ones that were able to get hold of this guy."

"Then why do you have it dear?" mom asked. There was no way that you could've missed the disapproving look on her face. There was no way that she wanted a dead animal in the house.

Dad quickly explained, "Well, you see, Nobunaga and Hojo, they drove up to Areno Forest in a small car and couldn't fit this beast anywhere so I'm just holding onto it until they can pick it up. Rule is, if you kill it, you keep it."

After hearing that, Sota went on and on about how 'cool' it was to have a hunter for a father and how he wanted to be just like him when he got older. Kagome on the other hand wished she could feel the same. She knew that there wasn't anything she could do to help the wolf now…

…But…

She reached out and gently stroked the wolf's paw, feeling the soft fur and the sharp claws. She felt so bad for it that she didn't want to look anymore. She turned her head back to her father and forced a smile. "Dad? Let's go in now, its freezing!"

Laughing, he put an arm around her and mom before led the way back into the house, with Sota trailing behind.

_*After dinner*_

The whole family was back together, and was making up for the time that dad had spent away. Dad told them all about his adventures up in Areno Forest and all the wildlife that lived there. He told them how he got a quick look at the wolf pack that lived up there and how professional hunters went after their prey.

"Mostly," he said between mouthfuls of cake that his wife had made for dessert. "People only bother going after the deer or ducks up in those parts. But even just the tiny birds and rabbits are hard if you don't know what you're doing. And you have to be real patient to want to do fishing in those rivers at this time of year. But if you want a real challenge, then go after the wolf pack. Deer and ducks are good for beginners. But for the true hunter…"

"Dad," Kagome interrupted, "You mind not talking about killing while we're eating? I'm starting to lose my appetite."

"Don't listen to her dad!" Sota said in excitement. "So did you and Nobunaga get anything other than that wolf outside?"

"Not really," dad admitted before shoving more cake into his mouth. "We didn't stay all that long this time. See the radio predicted that there was going to be a big snowstorm coming and if we didn't leave then we could've gotten snowed in. But I can tell you that Nobunaga's boy is a chip of the old block. I can see that he has the same talent for hunting that his father has. He's gonna be somebody someday."

"Gosh," Sota said in an impressed voice. "I can't wait to be able to go hunting with you someday."

"Well," dad said casually, "You could get your chance this weekend."

Sota's jaw dropped, showing the half-chewed food in his mouth. But he didn't notice, he was looking at dad with a look of complete surprise and eagerness.

"What do you mean dear?" mom asked curiously. "And Sota, chew with your mouth closed."

Dad put down his finished plate before he stood up and said, "That's my surprise! The snowstorm they predicted? It turns out that it passed over the hunting grounds which means hunting season's gonna stay open a little longer! So I thought, why not take my family up for a camping trip? We're going to be staying in a log cabin all weekend! How does that sound to you kids?"

"WOW! Are you serious?" Sota screamed in exhilaration.

"That sounds great dad!" Kagome yelled, getting up to hug her father.

Sota leapt up to do the same, over their heads dad looked at mom and asked, "How does it sound to you dear?"

"That sounds wonderful honey," was mom's trouble-free answer. "I've been wanting to go on vacation for a while now. I need to get away from work and camping sounds great at the moment."

So after the whole family had a group hug they all broke apart. "We're leaving this weekend right dad?" Sota asked as if making sure that he wasn't lying.

"Yes, Sota," dad said smiling and rubbing his hands together. "After school on Friday, we'll be heading up to Areno Forest for our camping trip."

"YES!" Sota yelled. "I'm going to my room to pack right now!"

"SOTA!" mom called after him, "We still have 4 days to get ready!"

"What? Only 4? I thought it was 5!" Sota yelled. "Oh, this is getting grim, I gotta hurry!"

Dad could only laugh at his son's retreating back. "Well, I'm glad that everyone is so excited for the trip. And it looks like we're finally gonna see if my kids are as good as hunters as their old man is."

"W-what me hunt?" Kagome said caught off-guard.

"Yeah you!" dad said pulling her in a one armed hold. "I want to see if either of my kids have my talent for hunting like Hojo is with his father. Of course," he replied as if he thought of something, "If you rather not hunt I'll completely understand. I mean, we're going to do more than just go after animals. There's going to be hiking, canoeing, fishing, bird-watching, cooking outdoors, and pretty much anything you guys want. Nobunaga and Hojo will both be there with us so I'm sure that we can all find something to do."

"Yeah," Kagome said cheering up greatly. "Yeah, that all sounds fantastic. Ah, dad… I'm going to go and look through my clothes and see what I'm gonna need."

"What? You too?" he asked surprised. "Sota I can understand but you getting ready early? You always wait until the last minute to pack for a trip."

"Well, I want to be ready to go this time," Kagome said. She quickly left after that to let her parents have some time to themselves.

She went to bed with a lot on her mind that night. Really, she was looking forward to the camping trip and spending some time away from the same old boring stuff that happened to her every day. A chance to get out of this town for a little while and to be away from her school and the boring neighborhood for a few days sounded almost too good to be true. But…

The image of the dead wolf came into her mind. She rolled over onto her side, trying to decide what to do and why she felt this way. Could she bring herself to actually kill another animal like that? It would be one thing if the animal was trying to kill her or if she was alone in the wilderness about to die of starvation… but to actually kill an animal for nothing more than sport?

She didn't want to… but at the same time, she couldn't get the eager look on her father's face when he talked about her hunting with him…

Sighing, she pulled the blankets up over her head. She would talk to her friends tomorrow and see what they thought.

**_(I hope that you all enjoyed the first chapter of my newest story. I was just watching this movie about wolves and this story just came into my head! Please review and tell me what you think and if I should continue.)_**


	2. Justifiable Sin

**_Chapter 2: Justifiable Sin_**

**(Don't mess with things that shouldn't be messed with. Like a hornets' nest, a bear when it's in hibernation, or messing with life and death. Sometimes, things are the way they are for a reason. And if you try to change anything that shouldn't be changed, then you're gonna get burned. If you're gonna go looking for trouble, it's a sure thing that you'll gonna find it.)**

Kagome was waiting for Sota at his school gates with Kikyo the next day. Kagome had just finished telling her about the camping trip when Sota came running up to them, waving goodbye to his friends.

"Hey sis! Hey Kikyo!" he called out happily. "Were you talking about the camping trip? Yeah me too! I told all my friends about it and it was all I could think of all day! I can't wait! How about you sis?"

"Yeah," Kagome answered him with a grin. "Just getting out of town for a weekend sounds great. I was just telling Kikyo what we were going to do up at Areno Woods."

"Sounds like fun," Kikyo said calmly. "I wish I could go."

"Yeah," Kagome agreed. "I think you would like it. You know camping is like going back in the days where you had to know all different kinds of stuff to survive. I mean you have to be part astronomer, doctor, builder, cook…"

"Sounds extreme," Kikyo replied.

"Yeah, dad said that it can be hard sometimes," Kagome admitted. "But it sounds really cool at the same time. He says that we're gonna go fishing, canoeing, hunting, hiking…"

"Hunting?" Kikyo asked sharply, her eyes narrow.

"Yeah, hunting," Kagome repeated noticing the same sour look on Kikyo's face when she told her yesterday about her dad going on hunting trips every year.

"You're not serious are you?" Kikyo demanded.

"Sure, my dad hunts all the time," Kagome said, not understanding why Kikyo looked angry.

"Yeah, he says that's it the best sport in the world," Sota said defensively.

"I don't believe this," Kikyo said to herself. "Do you even know what you're talking about?

"What's the matter?" Kagome asked concerned.

"The matter is that you're talking about going out and killing things," Kikyo snapped.

"Man, here we go," said Sota. "Do you work for Greenpeace or something?"

Kikyo ignored Sota and said directly to Kagome, "I have no problem with people going out and trying to relive the old days where we had to live off the land to survive. I mean, if we don't learn from the past we could end up repeating it."

"But?" Kagome asked, wondering where Kikyo was going with this.

"But this isn't the old days Kagome," Kikyo said simply. "People don't need to hunt animals for food anymore."

"But it's different out in the wild. It's about survival," Sota said in an offended tone.

"Survival? What you can't pack a lunch?" asked Kikyo not looking at Sota and speeding up so she wouldn't have to look at him.

"It's not about food," Sota said. "It's dangerous out there. Wild animals like bears, wolves, and wild dogs are a threat to people."

"You know as well as I do that there isn't a single case of a wolf attacking a person," Kikyo said hotly. "As for bears and wild dogs… they only attack if they feel threatened. It's not like they go out of their way to kill humans. You guys just like to shoot defenseless animals."

"Hunters don't always shoot them," Sota argued. "My dad said that sometimes they trap animals. That's humane isn't it."

"Oh really?" Kikyo said. "How much do you know about hunting?"

"Everything that dad told me about," Sota said proudly.

"Is that so? Well, you need to do some more research," Kikyo answered. "You know about trapping? Animals can be caught in a trap for weeks on end, starving and frighten, before someone finally finds them. Then the big **'brave'** (she made quotations marks in the air) trapper uses a club to beat them to death. You call that humane?"

"It's quick and painless," Sota disagreed though he looked a little unsure this time.

"You wouldn't think that if it were happening to you," Kikyo said stubbornly. "You wouldn't think it was 'quick and painless' if you were in their place."

"But they're just animals."

"And so are we," Kikyo said. There was finality in her voice that said that she wasn't going to change her mind. "Next time you see an animal… try to imagine how you would feel if you were the one the hunters were coming after."

Sota looked furious, clearly thinking that Kikyo was trying to ruin the trip for him, he then said to his sister, who didn't say a word as they argued. "Come on lets go Kagome. She's just jealous that she's not going."

"Oh, yeah," Kikyo snarled. "That it. I'm jealous about not becoming a murderer. Believe whatever you want to believe—whatever it takes to make you happy. I'm just telling you what I think is right. But if you want to kid yourself there's nothing I can do."

Sota stuck his tongue out at her before he went running off.

"SOTA!" Kagome called and was about to chase after him. But at that moment Kikyo said to her, "Kagome?"

Kagome looked back at her. Kikyo gave her a hard look and whispered, "Please think about what I said. Please?"

Kagome hesitated for a moment and finally nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow at school!"

_*At home*_

"And then she said that hunters were murderer's dad!" Sota whined to his parents as Kagome helped herself to some cookies. The whole family was in the kitchen listening to Sota telling them all about the argument that he had with Kikyo when they told her about hunting.

Kagome looked up from her seat wondering what her father was going to say, or if he was at least going to look angry, but instead he just sighed. "Yeah, I get a lot of that." He stood up and paced the kitchen, "They just don't understand the glorious nature of the hunt."

"But is what she said true dad?" Kagome asked tracing the countertop with her finger and not looking at him. "What she said about trapping? It isn't true is it?"

"Not you too!" Sota yelled standing up. "Geeze, what's with women these days?"

"Sota," dad said. "That's enough. If people believe that hunting is wrong, then that's what they believe. And we have to respect that. Even if we agree don't alright?"

Sota gaped at him before he sank back into his chair and crossed his arms in anger. Kagome looked at her cookie, before putting down and pushing it away from her, unable to finish it. Mom just looked at all three of them, not saying a word and looking grim.

"Hey!" dad said trying to cheer up the mood. "Don't make those faces right? We aren't going to be hunting the whole time that we're up there. We're going to have plenty to do. And if you want to hunt with your old man that's great! But if you rather not," he looked at Kagome as he said this, "Then that's great to."

"You are going to huh? Aren't you sis?" Sota asked his eyes wide.

The all looked at her, and she gulped before admitting, "I-I don't know."

"Wimp," Sota said matter-of-factly.

"Hey!" Kagome yelled getting angry. "Look who's talking Mr. 'I'm still afraid of the dark!'"

"You promised you wouldn't mention that again!"

"Well, how about I just tell all your little friends that you still wet the…"

"Alright! Alright that's enough!" Mom called out. "Now, we are all going camping this weekend. And it's supposed to be fun. So stop arguing about it ok?"

Nobody said another word to each other the rest of the evening. Kagome could only sit up in her room, thinking about what both her father and Kikyo had said about hunting… and wondering which one was right.

_*School the next day*_

Kagome got to school early the next day and waited for Kikyo by her locker. She wanted to talk to her and see if she was still angry about yesterday.

"Hey Kagome," Kikyo's voice said, causing her to jump.

"Kikyo!" Kagome cried, "How many times have I told you not to sneak up on me?"

Kikyo shrugged, "Who knows? I stopped keeping track a while ago."

Kagome rolled her eyes, "Right."

"Listen, Kagome," Kikyo began, "I'm sorry about yesterday. It's just that I can't—I can't approve of hunting innocent animals. Especially the wolves that live up in Areno Woods. Kagome, have you ever heard of a wolf attacking a human?"

"Well no," Kagome admitted.

"Exactly!" Kikyo said. "They haven't done anything to us, so why don't we just leave them alone? I mean… I would understand you killing an animal if you were alone in the wilderness and about to starve to death. But we're talking about killing animals for nothing more than for fun! How is killing a living, breathing creature considered a sport?"

"Kikyo!" Kagome interrupted, "Please, calm down!"

Kikyo took a deep breath. "I'm sorry; it's just that I wanted to give…"

But before she could finish talking, the bell rang, and Kikyo's voice was swallowed up by the sounds of hundreds of students flooding the hallways.

"Kikyo!" Kagome called over the noise, "It's just that you wanted what?"

"I'll tell you later!" Kikyo called back, and then the next second, she was gone.

Kagome stood there for a few seconds in surprise, trying to see where Kikyo had gone. _'I hate when she does that,' _she thought to herself before she headed for her first class.

_*After school*_

Kagome's mom asked her to take out the garbage as soon as she got home. So sighing, and grumbling to herself, Kagome pulled the heavy bag out to the trashcan… but as she did she spotted Sota crouching low among some dead leaves and bushes crawling along on his hands and knees.

Wondering what on earth he was up to now she snuck up behind him and yelled out, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Sota jumped a good 3 to 4 feet in the air before he noticed it was his sister. He then began shouting at her, "WHAT'D YOU DO THAT FOR?"

"Well, you were crawling around on the ground here, and I was wondering what you were doing."

"How? By trying to give me a heart attack?"

"No, I just thought that it would bring a little excitement to this dull day."

"Well congrats! You succeed," Sota's voice was sarcastic this time.

"Thanks, now what were you doing?"

"What couldn't you tell? I was crawling around on the ground!"

Sota really needed to do something about this sarcasm.

"Yes, idiot. But I wanted to know why?"

"Like I'm telling you."

"Fine, then I'll tell mom that you're ruining your good jeans with all that mud," Kagome threatened.

Sota took a step backwards. "You wouldn't."

"I would. Now tell me what you were doing."

"I was practicing if you must know!" he finally confessed.

Kagome blinked in confusion, "Practicing what?"

"My hunting skills. What else?"

That stopped her. "How is crawling going to help you hunt?"

"Why do you care? You aren't going to hunt with the rest of us!" Sota snapped. But then looked at her carefully, and asked, "Aren't you?"

"I never said that I wasn't going to," Kagome answered. "I just… I just don't know yet. So tell me how is crawling going to help you get animals?"

"You should listen to dad a little more often," Sota criticized. He then went back to crouching low among the dead wood before saying, "He says that animals have keen senses, but we can fool them. When you're stalking something you just do what wolves do."

"What? Howl for your buddies to come bail you out?" Kagome asked.

"NO!" Sota yelled. "They stay downwind, keep low, and move slow."

"Keep low, move slow?" Kagome said. "Simple enough."

At that moment, they both heard what sounded like a twig snapping. "What was that?" said Kagome looking around her for the source of the noise.

"I don't know. But keep low," instructed Sota as if he was suddenly on the battlefield. He moved closer to the bush and looked around as if expecting some monster to leap out an attack. "Move slow," he mumbled to himself, "And keep low or they'll get you."

"It's kinda spooky," Kagome spoke up, "The way you're talking—like something is about to kill you."

"Yeah, but nothing to worry about," Sota said confidently. At that moment, someone had appeared out of nowhere.

"Hey guys," Kikyo said as she stepped out from the other side of the bush that Sota was hiding at.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Sota screamed as he fell backwards. And Kagome jumped a few feet in the air. "You just don't know when to quit sneaking up on people do you?" she cried, recognizing her friend. Kagome put her hand over her heart, understanding how Sota must've felt when she sunk up on him just a minute ago.

Kikyo blinked in surprise, obliviously not expecting this reaction. "Sorry guys, did I scare you?"

"What are you doing sneaking up like that?" Sota yelled as he stood up angry. "What if I had a weapon or something on me?"

Kikyo's eyes narrowed and she said in a cold voice, "Yeah what if you did?"

Sota just leapt up and said to Kagome, "Come on Kagome let's go."

"Hey wait for Kikyo," Kagome called after him, but he was already heading back for the house.

"You can wait for Kikyo!" Sota shouted back and slamming the door behind him. Kagome looked from the door to Kikyo and back before saying apologetically, "I'm sorry. I really don't know what's gotten into him. I think he's still upset about…"

"It's ok. It's not your fault," Kikyo cut in. "And anyway, it was really my fault. I shouldn't have said those things to a little kid like him."

"You were just saying what you thought was right," Kagome answered. "I can't be mad at you for that. But anyway—what did you want to talk to me about?"

Kikyo reached into her pocket for something before saying, "Sorry. I was looking for you to give you this."

She then pulled out what she was looking for… it was a necklace. But it wasn't a usual kind of necklace… It was a beaded chain with a large pink jewel that was throwing off miniature rainbows in the afternoon light. It sparkled every time it moved and the more that you looked at it, the more that it seemed to feel as if it swirling around with some strange magic.

"For me?" Kagome said stunned as she took it. She rolled the crystal in her hand for a moment before holding it back up to the light to see the rainbows shining through. "It's beautiful."

"Yeah, I picked it up from a local native tribe," Kikyo explained. Both girls admired its beauty for a minute before Kagome asked, "Thank you. But I don't understand. Why are you giving this to me?"

Kikyo pointed at it and said, "Look closely."

Confused, Kagome looked back at the gem, trying to see what Kikyo was talking about. She stared at the little pink orb—until—she saw it. There, inside the very center of the jewel was the form of a—"It's a wolf," Kagome croaked out.

A miniature version of a wolf was inside the jewel, like a mosquito that's been fossilized inside tree sap.

"Yeah," Kikyo answered smiling. "The people who gave it to me believe that wolves have ancient mystical powers unlike any other creature. Cool huh?"

Kagome looked at her with raised eyebrows and asked, "Do you believe that?"

Kikyo shrugged, "Well I believe that they believe it. I'm not sure how far I'd go… but I do know they respect wolves and we should too."

Kagome looked back at the jewel to get a better look at the wolf. She stared at it with a slight smile until she noticed something every strange was happening. Her smile slowly faded as she stared at the form of the wolf—there was something off with it. Maybe it was just a trick of the light… but the longer she stared… the more the little wolf seemed to move—the more that it seemed—alive.

Suddenly the wolf was running, she could see it running as if it was stuck in place in some kind of pink fog. But not as if it was being chased or even if it was chasing something else… no it was running just for the thrill of it. And as she watch, she seemed to lose herself, like she forgotten who she was. She forgot where she was and what she was doing… all that mattered was that she was wishing that she could run with that little wolf.

She was so close to wishing that she could feel the wind rushing by, to feel the joy of being alive and free.

Suddenly, the wolf stopped running. It slowly turned it's head towards her… and Kagome could see its eyes… a pair of glowing yellow eyes staring at her. It then reeled back it head and Kagome's ears were then filled with the ghostly sound of a wolf's howl.

"Hey, what's wrong?" said a voice from what sounded like a mile away. "Kagome? What is it?"

"Huh?" Kagome said. She shut her eyes and began to shake her head as she came back to reality. "What? Oh, oh, nothing," she said. She blinked several times to see that she back, standing in the back yard beside Kikyo who was looking at her with concern. "Sorry. I guess that I faded out for a minute. Um, thanks this is really nice of you."

Kagome then looked back the jewel to see that it was back to normal. She undid the clasp and put it around her neck. "I'll never take it off," she said.

Kikyo smiled slightly. "I'm glad that you like it. So tell me… are you really going to go on that hunting trip?"

"It's a camping trip," Kagome disagreed.

"Whatever," Kikyo answered. "But are you really gonna hunt with those guys?"

"I… I don't know," Kagome admitted. "I mean… I don't want to let my dad down. And I don't want to let Sota down either."

"Even if you think they're wrong?" Kikyo asked.

"But I don't think they're wrong," Kagome said loudly. "I mean… I don't know if they're wrong. Let's just talk about something else ok? But I promise that I will think about everything you said before I do anything."

"Yeah. OK," Kikyo agreed sounding satisfied. The two girls then walked back to the house and began talking about Kikyo's first archery tournament coming up.

(I hope you like this story. And please tell me if you have any suggestions of things you would like to see.)


	3. Areno Woods

**_Chapter 3: Areno Woods_**

**(Going to new places is exciting, it's like a mystery. You always wondered who lived there before. You can't help wondering what they were like… and why they left.)**

Kagome and Sota were sitting in the backseat, staring at all the trees that were flying by. "Man," Sota said, "And people say that we should save trees."

"Sota," Mom said, "Put your coat back on, we'll be there soon. It can get cold up here. And you don't want to spend the weekend sick do you?"

"But mom, it's hot in here!" Sota whined as he pulled his coat back on with difficulty.

"You too Kagome, I still can't believe that you only brought that one jacket with you."

Kagome was sitting there in a black velvet jacket, looking through the window at the passing trees, one hand wrapped around the necklace that Kikyo had given her.

Her mom wasn't particularly fond of her velvet jacket, but Kagome didn't wear it to make her mad or anything. The fact is that she looked so good in it that she couldn't help but where it everywhere. Finally, dad said that they were at the camping grounds and to get out of the car.

"Alright gang," he said brightly. "Welcome to Areno Woods!"

As they got out of the car, Kagome looked around her for the first time. It was beautiful to say the least. The ground was covered in pine needles, and pinecones while the trees stretched on as far as the eye could see in all directions. Tall evergreens the color of emeralds with snow that reflected the sunlight making it look like a giant Christmas card. Just in front of them was a small hill with a winding pathway that had the trees on either side of them almost like a tunnel. To their left, there was a large lake with crystal-clear water that sparkled like glass covered with glitter. While far off in the distance, Kagome could barely make out tall cliffs that looked as if they could touch the sky.

Kagome took a deep breath in smelled the wonderful scent of pine trees and fresh soil. She loved this place already.

Just then she heard a familiar voice call out, "Over here!"

Kagome turned and smiled at Nobunaga and Hojo who were running towards them. (Nobunaga's this really big goof, but he's a nice big goof.) Hojo was the spitting image of his father… everything from the identical faces—to the fact that they both are obsessed with anything healthy.

"All right," Nobunaga said. "Let's get your bags." Then, raising his voice, he called, "Hojo, come on. Why don't you get Kagome's bags?"

Hojo then came bounding forward, picked up her two bags, and began to carry them, not even looking like was bothering him.

Hey, she packed those bags. She knew what was in them. And they were not light. But Hojo was like, _'No problem here. Let's get moving.'_

But as Kagome moved to follow them, she felt the airs on her arms begin to rise as if there was static electricity in the air. She turned around to where she could've sworn that she saw a pair of eyes watching her. But she blinked and the eyes had vanished.

Breathing hard, she squinted her eyes, trying to see where the eyes could've gone—or if she even saw a pair of eyes in the first place.

"Kagome?" her mom called back to her.

"C-coming!" she shouted back. She gave one last look around before she turned and followed everyone.

She wasn't expecting something like that happening.

But she had a feeling that she was in for a lot of surprises this weekend. She was so caught up in all the excitement, she didn't hear Nobunaga and her mom talking about the cabin that they were going to be sharing.

"Kagome has always liked very old buildings," mom said.

"Oh, then I guess she's going to like the cabin."

Kagome, who had been staring at the scenery again suddenly turned to face them. "Why?" she demanded. "What are you talking about?"

She saw what they were talking about as soon as they all headed up a small pathway for a couple minutes. Sitting up there at the very top was the cabin that they would all be sharing. The cabin was huge and impossible pretty, with traditional Japanese style turrets and a widow's walk—the whole works. It had it painted blue and white and cream, and big, shady pine trees, and sprawling, flowering shrubs surrounded it. Three stories high, constructed entirely from wood, and not the horrible glass- and-steel or terra cotta stuff from the houses back home were made of; it was the loveliest, most tasteful house she had seen.

Unbeknownst to her, the eyes continued to watch every move she made.

_*A Little Later*_

"Kagome," Hojo kept saying, "Wait until you've seen your room. My dad's fixed it up so nice for you…"

"That sounds nice Hojo," Kagome replied as they entered the house.

"The view!" he went on as though he couldn't hear her, "It has a perfect view of the lake from the window! Kagome, you're going to love it!"

She was sure that she was going to love it; she just wished that Hojo would stop talking. Don't get me wrong, she liked Hojo ok, but he often became annoying and went on and on about the obvious. It was enough to drive anyone up the wall. Once they put everything down in the kitchen, Hojo led her upstairs to show her the room.

As it turns out, her room was separate from the house, a considerate choice that she was grateful for. A large window looked out over the same view as the porch. It was sweet of them, really, to give her such a nice room, the room that had the best view of the whole house, even if it was separate.

And then she saw how much trouble they'd gone to, to make the room feel like home—or at least to some excessively feminine, girly-girl… not her. She had never been the glass-topped dressing table, princess phone type. She saw how Nobunaga had put cream colored wallpaper, dotted with blue forget-me-nots, all along the top of the intricate white wainscoting that lined the walls; how the same wallpaper covered the walls of my own personal adjoining bathroom; the bed—a four poster with a lace canopy, the kind her mother had always wanted for her and had evidently been unable to resist. She was deeply touched by how hard they worked on it for her.

Until she turned toward the window, to look out at the lake… at that moment she heard it… a ghostly howl echoing across the landscape. Kagome let out a small shriek of surprise and leapt backwards. She turned to Hojo and practically yelled, "WHAT WAS THAT?"

He smiled at her, "That's just the wolf pack. You know? The ones that we've come up here to hunt? Aren't you going to help us hunt them?"

"Oh, right," Kagome said quickly turning back to the window, and tried to see if she could make out any dog-shaped forms, but seeing none.

"Yeah, the howling can disturb some people at first. When I first heard it, I was so scared that I wet myself."

Ok, she did not need to hear that. She thanked Hojo as politely as she could before she asked him to leave. She waited for his footsteps to fade away before she went back to staring out the window at the landscape. She looked long and hard, but she couldn't see any signs of a wolf pack. She didn't know why she was suddenly so interested in the wolves… maybe it was Kikyo rubbing off her?

Speaking of Kikyo, she began playing with the jewel that still hung around her neck, lost in thought, wondering what she should do. She still didn't know. Should she go hunting with her dad and the others tomorrow? Or just stay behind and not have any part of it?

But as soon as she heard that howling, she felt a thrill of fear go through her… but not the kind that kept you up at nights… it was scary but at the same time it didn't sound like it was something to be afraid of. The sound was so eerie that it felt like it struck through to the very core of her heart.

Her hand wrapped around the jewel, she could only continue to stare out at the water. It was strange, she could hear the howling again… but could she really? Or was she just imagining it? She couldn't tell. But the longer that she held onto that little jeweled wolf, the more she began to imagine the wolf howl. Not a dangerous battle cry—rather it sounded more like the night call for a mate.

This wolf song sings about a forlorn fate. They were living as a lonesome breed on singular prowl alone in their wild forest home as guardians of this wood. Living high upon timbered mountain tops they roam deep shadows ranging free while only the whisper of their silent paw prints cross valleys and meadows. Kagome's imagination began to fade in and out like the day that Kikyo first gave her the necklace.

She didn't know how long she sat there. All she knew was that she began to feel very tired and for a moment she thought that she was going to fall asleep when she heard her mother calling her.

"Kagome? You've been up there for while now. Why don't you come down and join us?"

"Huh?" Kagome said, coming to. She rubbed her eyes and let go of the jewel. As soon as she let her hand fall however, she didn't feel tired anymore. But before she could figure out what happened, Sota came running in and yelled, "Kagome! Mom told me to come and get you. Let's go!"

"OK, ok!" she yelled back, following him out of the room.

She ran into her mother on the stairs who asked, "Kagome? How do you like your room?"

"What?" Kagome asked confused for a moment. "Oh, yeah. It's great—really great. I guess that I'm just a little tired from the car ride."

"Well," she said. "I'm glad you like it. I was sort of worried. I mean, you were up there for almost an hour now and I thought…"

"An hour?" Kagome repeated in surprise. "I didn't realize how much time had passed."

That was her dad and Nobunaga's cue to appear. "So you like it?"

"Really guys," she said smiling and a little annoyed that they kept asking her. "It's great. I love it."

Nobunaga, hearing this, hustled around the house all excitedly, showing her the clap-on, clap-off lights and various other gadgets he'd installed. She followed him around, expressing her delight, and trying to be polite. It was really sweet, how much Nobunaga wanted us to be happy and comfortable here.

After a while, Nobunaga ran out of stuff to show her, and went away to start the barbecue. In honor of our arrival, we were having a cookout for dinner. Hojo went outside to make sure that the equipment was ready to go for tomorrow. In the meantime, her dad and Sota took off to see the lake before we ate. Which left Kagome and her mom on their own.

"You look a little tired, Kagome?" mom said to her. "Do you want to go back up and sleep until dinner's ready?"

"Its fine, mom," she said. "Really. I think I was just lost in a daydream."


	4. The Legend of Quicksilver

**_Chapter 4: The Legend of Quicksilver_**

**(Everyone knows that there's nothing in the dark that can hurt you… most of the time…Things are always scarier at night. You can be scared during the day, but don't bother, because the real terror, never begins until night falls.)**

"DINNER!" Nobunaga called to everyone. Kagome got up from the window seat in the living room and headed to the kitchen to eat, but truthfully, she was feeling like she going to be sick. Her mother came downstairs from cleaning, Sota and her dad had just come back from the lake and looked like they were ready to eat the first thing they saw, while Hojo came in from the back after making sure that the equipment was ready for tomorrow.

They all sat down at the kitchen table and were just beginning to enjoy the taste of barbecued ribs when the conversation turned back to hunting.

"Man," her dad said to no one in particular. "With this many people, I think that we just might be able to finally catch Quicksilver."

"He's a clever one," Nobunaga agreed. "But we've got brains… that and some new toys that I would like to test out."

"Quicksilver?" Sota asked curiously, looking up from his ribs, his mouth covered with barbecue sauce.

"He's this half dog/half wolf that lives in the forest. He's the head honcho, the reason why we've been coming to this cabin for years. He rules the wolf pack up here," dad answered him. "We've been trying to get him for years… but he always manages to outwit us somehow."

"Yeah," Hojo said. "If you ask me… Quicksilver isn't like any ordinary dog. He's crafty… it's like he thinks like a human or something. Man… some of the other hunters I know who've been trying to track him swear that he's a ghost or something.

"Why?" Kagome asked surprised. "And why do you call him 'Quicksilver?'"

"Because," Hojo answered, all too happy to talk to her, "He's pure white. A rare color for a wolf in these parts."

"Why? Is he albino or something?" Kagome asked.

"No, but it's not that hard to think so," Nobunaga replied. "He's white… almost a silvery color—the color of a full moon. And no one has ever been able to capture him because he's so quick. One minute he's there—the next…" he made a whistling sound, "He's gone. Like he was never even there."

Kagome shivered.

"That sounds so cool!" Sota yelled. "And I get to help you catch him right?"

Dad ruffled his hair fondly. "We're gonna try Sota. But don't be too disappointed if we don't. Quicksilver isn't one that's easily caught. Many have tried, but no one has succeeded yet."

"Well, we are!" Sota cried out, earning a large cry of agreement from around the table. Everyone that is… except one.

"You ok, Kagome?" Hojo asked.

"Huh? What?" Kagome said coming out of her daze. "Yeah, I'm just not feeling so good all of a sudden."

"Ha, I knew it," Sota said in a know-it-all tone. "You can't do it! You don't want to hunt with us do you?"

"Sota," her mother said warningly. "If Kagome doesn't want to hunt then that's fine. You shouldn't rub it in alright? Keep that up and you won't be allowed to go tomorrow."

"NO!" Sota screamed.

"I'm afraid I agree," dad said. Sota looked at him in horror. "If you can't behave yourself and get along your sister then you aren't ready to go."

"No! I'm sorry ok? I'll behave myself."

"May I be excused?" Kagome asked standing up and pushing her plate of barely eaten food away from her. "I don't feel right." She put her hand up to a pounding headache that came out of nowhere.

"Sweetheart?" mom said putting her hand on Kagome's forehead, feeling her temperature. "What's wrong?"

"I think that I'm still tired from the car ride," Kagome said though this didn't feel like she was car sick or anything. She never felt like this before. But she didn't want to ruin everyone's vacation and said, "I'm just going to bed early tonight."

"You sure?" dad asked concerned.

"Yeah," she answered. "No, I'm fine Hojo!" she said hurriedly to the boy who also began to stand up. "I'm just going to bed. I'm sure that I'll feel better by tomorrow!"

She then ran from the room before anyone else could say anything.

_*In her room*_

She was thankful that her room was separated from the rest of the house. She knew that no one would bother her, and right now she wanted to be left alone. She didn't have a clue what was wrong with her, all she knew was that she just wanted to go to sleep. She quickly changed into her favorite pajamas before she climbed into bed.

As she rolled over, she turned her head to stare out at the window to see that the moon was almost full and was shining in the night sky.

She never saw the moon as big or as bright as she did right there. She gasped in surprised and wonder, continuing to stare at it for a while. But the more she watched it, the less tired she felt… it was almost as if the moon was giving her energy.

She didn't know how long she sat and watched it, but at one point she found herself getting up and out of bed. She walked over to the small balcony and continued to stare at the moon.

She didn't know what was happening to her but she didn't care. But when the moon went behind a cloud, she came back to her senses. Blinking in surprise she quickly stepped backwards away from the window, trying to clear her foggy mind.

She shook her head, suddenly feeling tired again and went downstairs to get a glass of water.

Everyone else must've gone to bed because there were no noises coming from any of the rooms. The lights were all turned off, and the silence was deafening as she headed straight to the kitchen and got her water. She stood there and drunk the whole thing down in a few gulps, just realizing how thirsty she was.

She lay her glass down and was just about to go back to bed when she thought she heard something move outside. Thinking that it was her dad, she called out, "Dad? Is that you?"

She went into the living room and saw something moving outside. "Daddy?" she repeated as she walked to the sliding glass doors, expecting to see her father or even Nobunaga probably checking the equipment one last time. Instead she saw something that was definitely NOT her dad.

It was a wolf. A wolf with fur as silver as the moon and the most beautiful golden eyes she ever saw. To scared to move or even scream, she watched as the wolf turned its head towards her. The fur shone like some kind of lunar dust and the eyes suddenly began to glow a deep gold like headlights.

Kagome felt something inside her begin to beat at 190 miles an hour… and that was when the wolf reared back its silver head and began to howl its ghostly song.

She finally screamed. She stepped back and tripped over the rug, but still trying to get away from the door. She then was able to get up and tried to run for the staircase but someone was already in her way.

"KAGOME!"

It was her dad.

"DAD!" Kagome shrieked as she wrapped her arms around his waist, shaking. "Daddy!"

"Kagome was is it? I thought you went to bed!"

"Dad, he's out there!"

"Who's out there?"

"It was a wolf dad! GO!" Kagome scream hysterically. She pulled him towards the sliding doors and pointed… but the wolf was already gone. "But he was… he was right there! Its eyes were glowing look! I swear it was right there!"

Her dad was staring at her like he thought that she was going crazy. But to make her happy, he opened the door and looked out. He couldn't see anything so he walked out, and looked all around him but he couldn't see any sign of a wolf. He even bent down to look at the ground, but he didn't see any wolf tracks. Finally, he got up and went back inside to where Kagome was still standing, shaking.

"There's nothing out there Kagome," he said to her. "I looked but there aren't any tracks or any other signs of a wolf. You sure that you weren't just dreaming or…?"

"I WASN'T DREAMING DAD!" Kagome yelled, desperate for him to understand. "I came downstairs to get a drink of water and there was a wolf with glowing eyes standing right outside!"

"Don't be ridiculous Kagome," he said slowly. "It was probably just a fox or maybe a raccoon?"

"No, it was a wolf dad!" Kagome yelled. "I think it was Quicksilver!"

"There are no wolves around here alright? Especially that one," dad said with finality. He put his hands on her shoulders and led her back to the stairs. "Listen, a good hunter never loses their cool. You want to be a good hunter like your old man right?"

_'No,'_ Kagome thought. But when she opened her mouth and it came out as a 'yes.'

"Kay, good. That's my girl. Go back to bed. Go," he said giving her a slight push.

Knowing that he didn't believe her, and that there wasn't any more point in staying she did what she was told. But she knew what she saw. She knew that she saw a wolf standing outside that door. And she knew that it had to be Quicksilver.

She shut her blinds so that she couldn't see the moon, jumped into bed and curled up into a tight ball and tried to relax. She laid like that for a long time, until sleep finally began to drift over her. She reached up to her throat and took hold of her jewel, suddenly find that she was overcome by a strang calm.

Just before she faded away into sleep, Kikyo's voice suddenly filled her ears, _'They believe that wolves have ancient mystical powers unlike any other creature. Cool huh?'_

Kagome had a very strange dream. She dreamt that she was getting out of bed and walking towards her window. The moon came out from behind the clouds and began to shine brightly, covering the land in its unearthly glow. Smiling, Kagome went out onto her balcony… she stepped onto the railing and held out her arms like a scene on 'Titanic'.

She smiled as a gust of wind came and blew her hair around her—almost like she was flying. No… she was falling. She stepped off the railing and began falling… but before she hit the ground, she turned her body around and was able to land lightly on her feet like a ballerina.

She raised her head up to the starry sky and began to laugh, a pure feeling of joy swept over her. Feeling the weight of complete freedom on her, she began to run. She ran through the thick woods underneath the light of the full moon. She dodged in and out of the trees, under branches, jumped over rocks and sticks—she didn't know where she was going. All that mattered was that she never so free and one with the earth as she did now. She barely even felt the pain of the rocks and twigs that cut her feet, nor did she care. She was free.

It was then that she heard it… the howling from the Areno Woods wolf pack again. She stopped running for a moment and smiled. She swept back her head and she too began to howl like a wolf, hoping they could hear her. When she howled, she could understand the wolf song that she was singing.

_'Come find me!'_ she howled at them. Things were quiet for a moment before she heard the wolves howl back to her, _'Where are you?'_ they seemed to say.

Kagome laughed, and howled as if to say, _'I'm over here!'_

Their voices seemed to cry out,_ 'Where are you? We can't find you. Where?'_

_'I'm waiting for you. Right here! Come find me!' _Kagome howled one last time before she reached the lake's edge and jumped in. She thought the water was going to be cold, but instead it was pleasantly cool… like she had jumped into a swimming pool in the dead of summer.

She began to twirl around, like a little kid spinning to get dizzy and fall over. She came up for air, dripping wet and laughing. She felt back into the water… and the last thing that she remembered was seeing the full moon beginning to set… and one last howl from her wolf friends that said so clearly, it was as if they howled it in English…

_'We'll find you. Come run with us!'_

Kagome fell into sleep's warm embrace… and knew no more.

"Kagome… Kagome… wake up!"

Who was calling for her? It didn't sound like the wolves this time.

"Kagome, dear, it's time to get up!"

Get up? She was dreaming? She opened her eyes; she was back in her room at the cabin. "Kagome!" her mother's voice called from the hallway. "It's time to wake up now!"

"OK!" Kagome called back. "I'm up!"

But she leaned back into her pillow. She didn't want to get up yet. She wanted to fall back into that beautiful dream again. But knowing that everyone would get angry if she stayed in bed, she pushed back her blankets and sat up.

The first thing she noticed was her room was bright. Her blinds were spread wide and the door to the balcony was open. The second thing that she noticed was that she was soaking wet… and her feet were muddy and cut… as if she had been running around without shoes in the forest all night.

(Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please read and review)


	5. Full Moon

**_Chapter 5: Full Moon_**

**(Magic is supposed to be the kind of thing that dazzles and amazes, but is still strangely real. But this kind of magic is more intense than a kind that comes from incantations or elixirs. It's the kind of magic that comes from inside us. A magic that can be used for good or incredible evil.)**

Kagome got up and quickly changed out of her wet clothes. She didn't have the slightest clue to what was going on… and she was freaking out. Breathing fast, she slipped into her warmest clothes and took care of her sore and dirty feet, and, not glancing at the window, left her room. She went downstairs to where everyone one else was sitting, eating breakfast, and went running passed them.

"Kagome?" she heard her mother call. "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing!" Kagome called back. "I just want to see something real quick! I won't be long!"

Before her mom, or anyone else, could say anything she went outside and behind the house to where her bedroom window was. She saw that her door was still wide open with the curtains fluttering in the breeze. But when she looked back to the ground… Kagome shook her head and took several steps backwards.

There was no way.

There were human footprints just underneath the window… the person was barefooted… and the tracks were in her size.

"No way…" Kagome whispered as she looked back up to the window. "That has to be a ten foot drop! How could I land here and not get a scratch?"

She was getting scared now. What was happening to her?

She shook her head and tried to get a grip on herself. _'Ok,'_ she thought trying to calm herself down. _'Let's think about this logically… you dream about floating down from your window, running through the forest at night, and fall into the lake. You wake up with your window open, your feet are muddy, and you're soaking wet… am I sleepwalking?' _

But Kagome never slept walked before! What was going on?

She decided to try and retrace her steps from the dream. She positioned herself right below her window, and followed her tracks right into the towering wood before her. She continued her way, trying to remember every detail of the dream. Then again, it was hard to remember because in the dream it was dark.

But somehow, she was able to follow the same pathway down to the lake. And to her horror and amazement… she saw her footprints in the sand, leading down to the water. Scared, she turned and ran all the way back to the house… unaware that someone was watching her.

_*The house*_

"You feeling alright Kagome?" Hojo asked as he offered her a plate of sausages. "You don't look so good."

"I'm fine," Kagome lied. "I just had a weird dream last night."

"What about?" Nobunaga asked curious.

They all looked at her. Kagome shook her head, "It's nothing that you would find interesting."

That was good enough for Sota. He turned to dad and asked, "We're going hunting today right?"

Dad laughed as he ruffled Sota's hair. "Yes, son," he said fondly. "Today we're going to go around and set up some traps… but don't get your hopes up to high if we don't catch anything."

"But I'm going to help you finally catch Quicklsilver!" Sota said confidently. He looked over at Kagome, knowing that he was supposed to be nice, he asked her, "Are you coming?"

"Sure…" Kagome said. She needed to get out of this house. She didn't know why… but she wanted to get out of this house as soon as possible.

Dad clapped his hands together in excitement. "Good girl!" he cried out in happiness. "We're gonna see what kind of outdoorman my girl really is huh?"

"Yeah," Kagome said timidly.

They all, with the exception of her mother, left the house and went out into the woods. Dad showed them all how to track, and set up all sorts of cages and traps. He taught them how to hide them in the wilderness to keep any animals from seeing them, and how to bait them with raw meat.

For some reason, Kagome committed every location where they place a trap to memory. Once everything was ready… they headed back to the cabin. "Tomorrow is the day that we'll catch something!" dad said rubbing his hands together like a child waiting for Christmas.

"I thought that you were going to show how to use your gun dad," Sota said sounding a little disappointed. What's with boys and guns?

Dad laughed as he put his hand on Sota's shoulder. "Take it one step at a time, son," dad said. "We'll move up to guns once you master trapping. Right Kagome?"

"Huh?" Kagome said looking at him in confusion. "Did you say something?"

"What's with you today, Kagome?" dad said frowning slightly. "You don't seem to be acting like yourself today?"

Kagome shrugged. "I don't know," she admitted. "I just… I don't know."

Frowning even more, he placed his hand on her forehead. "You don't feel hot… but you're white as a sheet.

Kagome put a hand up to her head and said, "I don't _feel_ sick. But I'm starting to feel—light-headed… and sleepy."

"You haven't been doing anything but sleeping since we got here Kagome," Sota said, and she was surprised to hear the slight worry in his voice.

"I know," Kagome said a little angrily. "I can't figure it out."

"Maybe you just aren't use to all this fresh air?" Hojo suggested. "When I first got here I was a feeling a little sick as well."

"Maybe…" Kagome whispered, but she knew that that wasn't it. "Maybe I should go to sleep early tonight."

_*That night*_

Kagome spent the rest of the day learning how to fish and hiking with her family. She had a lot of fun and was even able to eat dinner with everyone despite the fact that she was starting to feel sick again. She went to bed just a little bit later than she normally did.

Kagome looked out her window to gaze at the rising full moon one last time before she locked the door, and closed the curtains. She went over to her bed and fell on top of her covers. Nothing was going to happen to her tonight. She's not going to leave her room tonight.

She lay in her bed, staring up at the ceiling, lost in her thoughts on what was happening to her. She looked back to her necklace and held it tightly in her hands, for some reason—it calmed her nerves and helped her relax. But just when she was beginning to doze off… she heard it again.

The wolves were howling just outside her window.

Her eyes snapped open and she sat up in bed, terror overtaking her senses. She pulled back her blankets as she leapt out of her bed and ran to the window. She flung her curtains aside to look out. At first, she couldn't see anything—but then in the distance, she saw a flash of silver run through the trees.

Kagome's jaw dropped. She got down on her knees and squinted out into the darkness, trying to see… and to her horror, she saw at least ten pairs of glowing white eyes looking right at her.

Kagome closed her curtains again as she ran back to her bed, and pulled her covers over her head. _'What was going on?'_ she asked herself for the hundredth time that day. Wolves don't act like this do they? She could hear them howling again. She plugged up her ears, trying to block them out.

She had a part of her necklace in her mouth, trying to force herself to go to sleep and tune out all the noises. But then she heard some loud banging and crashing coming right underneath her window. Startled, Kagome got back up to see what the heck was going on. She opened the window and stuck her head out, only to see her father below her with a pair of trashcan lids in his hands. He must've somehow sensed her because he turned to her and smiled.

"It's ok Kagome!" he called up. "Just scaring away some pests!"

Kagome smiled at him and shut her window. She was being stupid. There wasn't anything going to happen to her right? She made sure that her window was locked again, and closed her curtains. She wrapped her blanket tightly around her like a straight jacket. _'Nothing's going to happen to me, I'm going to be just fine when I wake up tomorrow,'_ was her last thought before she finally fell into a deep sleep.

Maybe she had been staring at the night sky for too long. She dreamt of a full moon rising through the branches of the treetops and the howling from the wolves singing up to it.

She could hear voices echoing around her from distance memories… her fathers, Sota's, Kikyo's, and even her own echoing from somewhere inside her. Along with these voices, she had some very strange images running through her mind:

_"They believe that wolves have ancient mystical powers unlike any other creature. Cool huh?"_

_Kagome could see herself running through the woods again, howling for the wolves to hear her._

_"We're gonna see what kind of outdoorman my girl really is huh?"_

_The little figurine wolf inside her jewel began to move again, it's eyes were beginning to glow._

_"I… I don't know. I mean… I don't want to let my dad down. And I don't want to let Sota down either." _

_She saw the shadow of a wolf standing in the light of the full moon, singing…_

_"There are no wolves around here alright?"_

_She was walking through the cabin in the middle of the night with her own eyes glowing silver like the moon._

_"But they're animals."_

_"So are we."_

_Her window suddenly opened, her curtains blowing apart in a strong wind… a wolf came jumping through the window. Kagome screamed as she sat up straight, staring at the canine who was coming closer. The wolf ran to the edge of the bed and jumped up. She screamed again._

_It's beautiful glowing white eyes… _

Kagome sat bolt up straight, gasping for breath. She was dripping wet in sweat and staring around her trying to remember what happened. Her eyes flew to her window… she let out a sigh of relief. _'It was just a dream,'_ she told herself. She then realized that her throat was dry. She reached over to the glass of water on her bedside table… only to see the scratch on her arm.

She stared at it in terror. There were three long slashes on her forearm… as if she had been scratched by some kind of animal. She ran her hand over the marks… they were fresh… as if they were just made. She stood straight up on her bed, as if she thought the wolf was hiding underneath.

She pulled her blankets back over her head and tried to go back to sleep…

_*Morning*_

_Knock, knock, knock. _

"Kagome?" her dad's voice called through the door. Kagome opened her tired eyes. What did her dad want at some unearthly hour in the morning?

"We're going to go and check on the traps ok? We'll be right back!"

Of course.

Kagome sighed as she rolled out of bed and onto the floor. She had a really bad night. She was so tired, she was having trouble moving her limbs… she couldn't even get up off her hands. She crawled on the floor, trying hard not to throw up.

She squinted her eyes, the sunlight was blinding her.

She moved her head to look out a window she never noticed before—and then she saw it.

She thought her heart stopped beating for a second. Standing right in the window… was a wolf.

A wolf with midnight-black fur and large brown eyes was staring at her with an expression of fright. Kagome tried to scream but couldn't make a sound—she took a few steps backwards—only to see that the wolf also began backing away from her.

What was happening? How did a wolf get in here? And why was it scared of her? It looked so frightened and pathetic that Kagome felt her own fear slip away. She took a step forward… only to see that it took a step forward as well.

Kagome stopped… so did it.

Why was the wolf mimicking her?

And then she realized why. She blinked… it wasn't a window like she thought…

It was a mirror.

The wolf in the mirror… was her.

(Wow! Didn't see that coming! Hope you're enjoying this fic so far. If you have any ideas for the next chapter feel free to tell me. I'm low on inspiration at the moment)


	6. On the Run

_**Chapter 6: On the Run**_

**(I just don't like the idea of changing your looks to fit somebody else's idea of what beauty is. Its fine** **for some people, but I think we all sometimes place too much importance on looks. Some people spend a lot of time worrying about how they look, but looks can be deceiving. And sometimes mirrors lie. It's what's behind the face that matters.)**

'_What the hell happened to me?'_ she screamed in her head. She turned her head back in forth and her new reflection in the mirror mimicked her every move. How could she turn into a wolf? This was not normal! Oh no! Mom! Dad! Everyone! She couldn't let her family see her like this! But what was she supposed to do? She turned to move—but she tripped over her own feet—er—paws. She tried to get up and walk a couple paces only to trip over her legs again.

Walking on all fours is a lot harder than people think. You think that it would be like crawling… it isn't. She got back up and took just one step forward, and then moved one of her back legs, then another front one, and then the last foot. She had to walk around for a little while before she got used it.

Well, that solves one problem—but she still had a much bigger one.

No make that two. She walked to the door, only to see that it was still closed.

'_Now what am I going to do?'_ she thought bitterly. She now had a pretty good idea how a dog felt when it wanted out. She looked around her, trying to figure out what she should do and what the heck happened to her.

That was when she saw something shining on the floor among her blankets. She trotted over to get a better look. It was her necklace.

But as she looked at it, she noticed something was different. The bright pink glow that it had was gone… as was the figure of the wolf inside. Wait… was this what happened? She wore the necklace and now she's cursed or something? She stumbled backwards, falling in a heap of fur and blankets.

It was the necklace that did this to her! Damn it! Next time she saw Kikyo she was going to kill her.

She got back up and began to pace her room, trying to think of what to do. It's not like she could go downstairs and tell her parents what happened! She stopped pacing and lied down, putting her head on her front paws and tried to think of something—anything!

Before she came up with an idea however, she heard it once again.

She could hear the wolves outside howling… and this time she could understand them.

'_Where are you?' they howled, they sounded like they were frustrated._

She wasn't sure if it was instinct, but she automatically answered them. She wasn't even sure if they could hear or understand her but she howled, '_I'm here! I'm right here! Help me!'_

She ran to the window, and figured out how to put her two front hands… paws on the windowsill and continued to howl at them to help her.

"Kagome?" her mother's voice called from the hallway.

Kagome shut up, not realizing how much noise she was making. Oh, God—what was she going to do? She couldn't let her mom see her like this! She had to get out of the house… but the doorknob was starting to turn.

Panicked, Kagome dropped down from the window and ran underneath the bed, praying that her mom wouldn't see her. The door opened, and the first thing that she saw was her mother's bedroom slippers.

"Kagome?" her mom called out. "Are you in here?"

Kagome stayed quiet, not daring to say a word—not that she could in this state. She just stayed where she was and didn't move a muscle.

Finally, her mother turned and left; probably thinking that Kagome was outside or already downstairs. But as she left, she left the door open by just a hair. Hardly daring to believe her luck, she waited until she was sure that the mother went downstairs—one good thing about being a canine was that her hearing and smelling was so much better. She could even hear the sounds of the toast popping up from the toaster and the smell of sausages frying on the stove.

Her mouth was beginning to water and her stomach began to whine.

Once she heard her mother reach the first floor landing, Kagome crawled out from underneath the bed and headed to the door, she didn't know why but she just had to get outside, to where the other wolves were.

She blamed it on her new wolf brain for that.

She was somehow able to make her way down the stairs, she had to move sideways, and move one leg at a time until she was able to make it down to the first floor. She was very tense. (Can you blame her?) Jumping at the slightest noise, this time it didn't help that she could hear everything so much louder and farther away than before. She looked around her, trying to find her way out and not be seen at the same time.

Suddenly, she felt a slight wave of cold air—her head turned immediately to the breeze. Before she could stop herself, she headed toward the place where she could fell the fresh air. It was coming from the living room! She poked her head around the corner to see that the door was left open. She ran towards it. She was sure that she was going to make it…

That is until she heard the scream.

Her sensitive ears pulled back at the shriek and she stopped dead as her head turned towards the source of the noise.

Her mom was standing there, pressed up against the wall, staring at her with both fear and amazement clearly in her eyes. Without thinking, Kagome cried out, "Mom!"

But instead of her voice—it came out as a bark. She immediately shut up as to not scare her mom.

"Dear?" her mom called out. So much about not scaring her. "You might want to come here!"

Something in her panicked voice caused her dad to come running inside, dropping a bunch of tools in the process. He came in and asked, "What's goin—"started to say before his jaw dropped at the scene before him. His eyes fell onto his wife before he stared at Kagome, as if unable to believe his eyes.

"Get back," he whispered to mom as he moved towards Kagome.

Kagome didn't know what he was about to do, but something told her not to stick around and find out. She dashed towards the open door before her dad could say or do anything else, and she somehow was able to jump over the fallen tools before her padded feet finally hit the cold ground.

As soon as she was outside, she felt the wind whip through her as the hard ground barely registering underneath her feet, the sting of the fresh air burning her lungs… it all felt wonderful. But she didn't have time to stand there and enjoy it. She hit the ground running, and didn't look back.

She was able to run, how she was able to do so and not fall down in the process she had no idea. All she knew was that she had to get as far away as she could from the house. Her family didn't know that it was her running on all fours and they might do something extreme.

She could hear her father swearing at the top of his lungs as she left them behind. She felt her heart ache at the thought that she was running away—but what other choice did she have? She reached the forest, and without even pausing to think, she kept on running. Not knowing where she was going or what she was going to do.

So she kept running, and running—her human body would've tired out long ago, but she was full of adrenalin that she felt like she could keep running forever.

**(Sorry for the delay. i've been having a lot of trouble coming up with ideas lately. I'll try to update sooner.)**


	7. Meeting Quicksilver

_**Chapter 7: Meeting Quicksilver**_

**(Friends are the most important you're ever gonna have. You'd never run out on your friends because sooner or later, it's gonna come back to haunt you. And when it does, when you need your friends the most… you'll find yourself all alone. With no one to turn to.)**

Kagome dashed through the trees, over the dead leaves and branches—barely feeling anything on her new paws—she climbed rocks and over tree stumps before, finally, she was desperate for a rest and she collapsed in a small patch of soft snow. She fell onto her side, gasping for air, her heart feeling like it was beating a million miles a minute. She shut her eyes, trying to shut everything else out.

'_This is all a dream,'_ she thought. _'I'm just having another weird dream. Maybe there's something in the air that's making me dream like this. When I wake up—I'll be back in my bed and everything will be alright. One… two… three…!'_

Her eyes snapped open… and she was staring at the trees in the middle of the forest, with her black fur getting soaked with snow and leaves.

'_No,'_ she thought miserably. She forced her tired body into a sitting position on her back paws. She looked around her trying to see anything but trees; she didn't have the slightest idea where she was. She put her head down on her front paws and felt her heart breaking. She was so intent on getting away from the cabin she didn't realize what was really happening. She wasn't a human anymore. She was a dog… a wolf for that matter. Her family didn't know it was her… and most likely were afraid of her…

They were sure to find out that their daughter was missing and think that she ran away or something terrible happened to her. (Both were true but not in the way that they think.) She knew that she wasn't going home… not like this.

Not knowing what else to do, she did the only thing that seemed natural. She reared back her head and began to howl in sadness.

'_What's happening to me?' _she howled, still hoping against hope that she would somehow wake up. This can't be real… this is just a bad dream… she'll be waking up soon.

And then she heard something from somewhere above her that brought her back to her senses. She stopped crying and turned her head sharply, expecting to see her father or even another person standing there. Instead… she saw someone that she had seen only once before.

There, staring at her through the trees on top of a hill, was a wolf. He was large and beautiful, standing as tall as a Great Dane, with fur as white as the arctic tundra and eyes as bright as the golden sun. The only part of him that was black was his nose which looked like a piece of coal sitting on his long snout.

She knew right away who it was—Quicksilver. It couldn't possibly be anyone else.

She stared at him, transfixed… while at the same time, he too seemed to be fascinated with her—as if trying to figure out who she was. For some reason, the dog couldn't seem to turn his head way from her face. After a long staring contest he reared back his striking head and began to howl, _'So there you are! About time we found you.'_

His voice was gruff, and yet soft at the same time. It was both harsh and gentle… she suddenly had an urge to answer him, just for the chance to hear his voice again.

'_Who are you?'_ she howled at him. _'Please help me!'_

He looked at her curiously for a moment before he slowly walked off the hill and made his way to her. She stood back up on all fours as he drew nearer and nearer to her. She knew that she should be afraid, but she was so desperate for someone to help her that she was willing to take whatever chance she had.

She stood very still as he finally reached the foot of the mound and walked causally over to her. Nervously, she held her breath as he reached her. They stood just a foot away from each other; he stared deeply at her eyes, as she also stared back… as if hypnotized. They looked like tiny pools of melted gold that just seemed to look into her very soul.

He blinked, and suddenly she was snapped back to reality and remembering her problem. He came even closer, and she felt herself freeze as he put his nose right into the fur on her neck and took a deep breath. He was breathing in her scent… suddenly wondering what he smelled like, she put her long nose as close as she dared to his fur and sniffed.

He smelt like pine trees, fresh air, salty water, and… something spicy… she couldn't quite figure what though. It was like something you would come from a spice rack. But she knew that she loved it. All too quickly he pulled away from her to look into her eyes again.

'_Who are you?'_ he said. He didn't howl, but he didn't open his mouth either. It was like she heard his voice inside her head.

She didn't know how to answer him… so she merely thought, '_Kagome… but how can I answer you?'_

'_You just did,'_ Quicksilver said in confusion. _'So Kagome… who are you? I know that I've never seen you here before. And yet… why do I feel like I met you somewhere?'_

Maybe because the last they met, she was still a human, but something told her that it wouldn't the best idea to tell him that. Realizing that all she needed to do was shout out the words in her head she told him, _'I don't know. I don't know how I got like this. Please help me.'_

He tilted his head slightly, but before he could say anything else—they heard it. An almighty bang echoed throughout the area like a cannon. Fear striking her core, Kagome knew right away what it was… gunfire.

'_NO!'_ Quicksilver screamed loudly. _'The others!'_

He turned back to her and said, _'This way! It's not safe to stay here! We can talk about what we're going to do with you later.'_

'_But…'_ Kagome started. But he turned and began to run from her. Not knowing why she did it, she followed him. She raced after him, but no matter how hard she ran she just couldn't seem to catch up.

'_Hurry up!'_ he called to her. _'The rest of my pack's in danger from those lousy humans!'_

'_But what's happening?'_ Kagome screamed at him. _'Why are you in danger?'_

'_Don't you know anything?'_ he yelled as he leapt over a rotting log. '_This is the time of the year when humans come here in our territory and hunt us. When they come, we usually move up into the mountains… but thanks to that snowstorm we had no choice but to stick around a lot longer than usual. But now that we're finally able to leave, the humans start flocking here in drones.'_

'_That's terrible,' _Kagome called back, panting for breath._ 'But why are your friends in danger now?'_

'_Because,' _he howled,_ 'Thanks to some damn human traps, we all got separated. I picked up their scent from downwind along with some humans. That was just before I found you. But I got to find them. Humans already killed one of our pack members not to long ago. I have to stop them before they kill someone else!'_

Kagome felt her insides freeze as she thought of the wolf that her father brought home just last week… that wolf was a friend of Quicksilver's? But if they were in such danger, why did they wait? She was sure that they could've gotten through the storm; wolves were made for that kind of weather.

'_This keep getting worse,' _Quicksilver went on. _'Not only are we wait too long, but Ayame's going to be having her pups soon.'_

'_Ayame?' _Kagome called.

'_Pack member,'_ he shouted back. _'She and her mate Koga are near to having pups. That's why we couldn't leave yet. A snowstorm might've been too much for her to handle.'_

Oh, that explains it. They were worried about their friend so they waited until the storm was over. She ducked down from a low-hanging branch as she continued to follow him, forcing herself to keep running as she panted for air.

'_But what are you going to do once you find them?' _she asked, suddenly feeling worried for him.

'_Who cares?'_ he growled. _'I'll figure something out once I get there!'_

'_But what if the humans have guns?' _

'_Guns?' _Quicksilver asked confused._ 'You mean those long metal weapons of theirs? I'll deal with it! We already lost one friend; I have to stop them from wiping us all out! They drove us from the valley where I was born, and into these woods. But they just keep coming! One after another! Once they kill something, they don't eat it, instead they take the bodies back with them and no one knows what they do with it! The one they killed recently? Her name was Amaya, and now her son is left without his mother. We don't know what they did with her body… all we know is that she's…'_

He didn't seem to be able to finish that sentence.

Guilt… cold waves of guilt was flooding her. Amaya… she must've been that wolf she saw sticking out from underneath the tarp when her dad came home. It was her father and Nobunaga responsible for killing her…

She suddenly felt the overwhelming need to make up for this crime. She gritted her new canine teeth and forced herself to run faster so she could catch up to Quicksilver. _'Let me help you!'_

'_Keh, If you think you can,'_ he answered. _'You know, we were wondering who you were and why you came here. We heard you singing a few nights ago but we couldn't seem to find you.'_

Kagome was confused. _'You heard me singing?'_

'_Yeah,' _he answered as she ran closer to him. _'You kept calling for us, but we couldn't find you. Tell me, which pack to you belong to?'_

'_Ah…'_ Kagome said, understanding what he was talking about. She guessed those dreams, truly weren't dreams. But she was a human then… how come she could understand and communicate with them? She wondered what she should tell him. She could see that he didn't think to highly of humans—not that she blamed him, especially if they hunted and killed his friends. But how was she supposed to let him know what happened to her if she didn't understand what happened herself? Finally, she said to him, _'I don't have a pack… not anymore anyway.'_

She expected him to stop and demand that she explained herself. But instead, he turned his head around to look at her for the briefest second before he called out, without even slowly down_, 'So your pack kicked you out? That happens. Especially for the wolves who in the north. Their pack leader has no problem shunning the ones that are no more use to him. To tell you the truth, we didn't realize that there were any other wolves in this region. There are only two other packs that I know of and you don't look like you belong to either of them.'_

'_I come… from a region far away,' _she answered. It wasn't a complete lie, she just wasn't telling the whole truth. _'My family—my pack—they,'_ she couldn't go on. Thinking of her family was so painful, especially when she realized that they were probably aware that she was missing by now.

'_I understand,' _Quicksilver answered._ 'To us wolves, our pack is our family, and it's hard to lose them._ _But why were you shunned?'_

It took Kagome a moment for his words to sink in—**us wolves** he said. _'I ran away,'_ she answered truthfully. _'My pack… well… let's just say that they didn't like what I became and… and I just couldn't stick around any longer.'_

She was gaining on him and soon she was running just a few feet behind him. '_But we can talk about all that later, don't we need to save your friends first?'_

'_Yeah,'_ he growled, getting angry and worried again. '_Humans found our den, on the day that we were getting ready to move back into the mountains! When they found us they were using those pieces of metal, guns you called them? And attacked us. We all had no choice but to scatter and separate. I led most of the humans away… but what's going on now?'_

'_I'm sure they're alright,'_ Kagome panted as she ran.

'_They better be,' _he snarled fiercely. _'But until we find them, just stay behind me and I'll take care of everything.'_

'_But…'_

'_Look, I appreciate your help, but these hunters have been after me for years. I'll deal with the humans, you help get my pack out of here and I'll catch up later. We can talk then.'_

He looked to his right as he said that and Kagome followed his gaze. It was hard to see anything through the thick trees that rushed passed them. _'See those cliffs in the distance?'_ he asked her.

Kagome strained her eyes, trying to force them to see pass the blurring foliage and saw what he was talking about. There were tall, white cliffs that were reflecting sunlight and gave them the impression that they were glowing. They were the very same ones she saw when she first arrived at the cabin and they looked even bigger than before. She looked back to her new companion and cried out, _'Yeah, but I still don't…'_

'_Help them get to those cliffs. Humans rarely ever go there and it should be safe for us all to lay low for now, got it?'_

'_Look, I understand you're upset, but you can't deal with all those humans if they have weapons,'_ Kagome gasped at him as she began to run out of strength to sprint.

'_I can take care of myself,'_ he growled. _'But it's my pack that needs the help. Some… and when I say some I mean most… are completely hopeless. Especially, Ayame at the moment, she's about to have her cubs at the worst possible time.' _

He reared back his head and began to howl, Kagome knew what he calling to find his friends, _'If any of you die, I swear that I'll kill you!'_

For a moment, nothing else happened as his howl echoed around them, but then…

'_We need help!'_ yowled a voice from somewhere nearby, but it sounded high-pitched and not as gruff as Quicksilver's did. Kagome wasn't positive, but she suspected that it was a female who just answered.

'_Sango,'_ he barked. _'Well, things must be bad if she's asking for help. She's usually the most reliable one out of all of us.'_

'_I'm guessing that this Sango is part of your pack?'_ Kagome asked struggling to keep pace.

She couldn't see his face, but she somehow knew that he just rolled his eyes. _'Who else? And can you believe that the humans call her Battleclaw? With a nickname like that, you think she could handle things like this on her own.'_

Nickname?

She never thought about wolves already being named…

But now that she thought about it, Quicksilver might not be his real name after all. _'Sorry I didn't ask,'_ she wheezed as they ran through a small brook and started climbing over rocks with wet paws. _'But what is your name?'_

He barked out in laughter. _'Was wondering when you'd ask. Humans call me Quicksilver… but my real name is Inuyasha… the alpha wolf of this territory.'_

**(Sorry for taking so long. I hope that this chapter makes up for the long absence… I'm trying to figure out nicknames for all the wolves, who are Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Koga, and Ayame. I figured that if Inuyasha and Sango have nicknames that the hunters call them, then why don't the rest of them do? If any of you guys have an idea for a good name, then please let me know. And also, I want to take a vote. Should I have Kirara as a wolf as well? Another animal who's a friend of theirs? Or just not include her in the story? Thanks for reading and I'm looking forward to any ideas.)**


	8. Fallen Warrior

_**Chapter 8: Fallen Warrior**_

**(Hide-n-seek isn't like any other game. You start off in a group but when you're out there in the dark you're all alone. You have to hide and be real quiet, 'because you never know when somebody might jump out and catch you. In a game of hide-n-seek you never know when you'll get caught. And you never know who or what will catch you.)**

He barked out in laughter. _'Was wondering when you'd ask. Humans call me Quicksilver… but my real name is Inuyasha… the alpha wolf of this territory.'_

Inuyasha… so that's his real name. Her tongue came out of her mouth and she began to pant for more air for her already aching lungs. She didn't pay much mind to that though; she just continued to follow Inuyasha, willing to do anything she could to make up for what her father did to his pack. They ran a little more ways until at that moment, they heard the sound of more gunfire… but it was louder this time… much more closer.

Along with the howl of a dog… a dog in pain.

'_Kitsue!'_ Inuyasha howled. _'That idiot! What was he thinking?'_

'_What is it?'_ Kagome asked him.

'_That was Kitsue! He's hurt! They must've got to him!' _Inuyasha howled back at her, _'Keep up! There could be hunters anywhere!'_

Kagome nodded, though it was hard to do so while they were running. She gulped down some spit and zigzagged through some trees, right behind Inuyasha… and that was when she saw them. A group of hunters dressed in warm clothes were standing around a wolf with deep red fur.

'_Kagome!'_ Inuyasha growled at her_. 'Stay here until I drive them away! And then help Kitsue!'_

'_But…'_ Kagome began, but it was too late. With a howl of rage, Inuyasha gave an extra burst of speed and launched himself between the wolf and the hunters.

'_You want a challenge?'_ he barked at them_, 'Well, why don't you come after me?'_

"IT'S QUICKSILVER!" one of the hunters called in amazement and thrilled. Inuyasha's eyes flew to Kagome's and she nodded. Not knowing how to help Inuyasha's pack member, but she would figure out how to do something.

He nodded his head before he dodge a bullet that one of the hunters sent at him. With another howl he went running off, with the humans following close behind. Gasping for air, Kagome stopped running and looked around, making sure that there weren't any other humans waiting to attack her before she went to the wolf on the ground.

He was still breathing… but it was in short, desperate gasps.

Not knowing why she did it, she nudged her nose gently into the older wolf's side. His eyes opened and he looked at her in surprise.

'_Who…?'_

'_Kagome,'_ she answered him. _'I'm a… friend of Inuyasha's.'_

'_Ah,'_ he said as he closed his eyes again_. 'So you were that lone wolf that we kept hearing. I'm glad that I got to see you. I was worried about a young wolf like you being all alone in this area where there are many humans.'_

'_Oh, I'm fine,'_ she said quickly, _'But don't worry about me. We have to get you out of here before the hunters come back!'_

'_It's no use,' _he said back to her.

'_No, it's not!'_ she barked back desperately_. 'Just… just tell me how to help you and I'll do it! Inuyasha called you Kitsue right?'_

Kitsue raised his head a little bit and said weakly. _'Yes… Kitsue is my name. But the humans call me Russet because of my red fur.'_

Russet, or rather Kitsue turned over and tried to get back onto his feet but he fell back down almost instantly._ 'Please,' _he said to her, _'Help me get away from here at least. I don't want them to take me away like they did to my beloved mate.'_

Kagome got on Kitsue's left side and helped him to walk slowly away from the forest clearing. _'It was my fault,' _he said to her. _'You see, our pack was just getting ready to leave when that group of humans found us. They hide and came leaping out at us. We all got separated. Inuyasha was able to lead most of them away, so that I could get the rest of the pack as far as I could. But I'm afraid that I'm just not as young as I used to be. We were ambushed. I stayed behind to try and let the others escape… but…'_

He looked down at his left side. _'I got careless.' _

'_You'll be alright,'_ Kagome told him as she struggled underneath Kitsue's weight. _'We'll get you back to your pack and then you can all escape into the mountains.'_

Kitsue gave a harsh bark that might've been a laugh. _'Wishful thinking, young pup,' he said. 'You remind me a little bit of my dear Amaya…'_

Amaya…? Wait that was the name of the wolf that Inuyasha told her about…

'_I think Inuyasha told me about her,' _she said to him. '_She was killed by hunters wasn't she?'_

Kitsue gave a cry of both pain and sorrow. _'Some stupid looking humans trapped her…' _he howled in misery. _'By the time I finally got there, it was too late. They took her away, leaving me and Shippo.'_

'_Shippo?'_ Kagome gasped as Kitsue's weight continued to sag against her, he was getting heavier.

'_Our pup,'_ he whimpered back. _'He's with the other members of the pack. I stayed to fight those humans and make them pay for what they did to Amaya… but I see now just how foolish it was.'_

'_But…'_ Kagome began, but all of a sudden Kitsue collapsed. _'Oh, no! Kitsue, are you alright?'_

He was back on his side… but she now saw what the problem was. Red blood was mixed in with his red fur.

'_Kitsue…'_ Kagome whispered. _'You're… you're hurt!'_

'_I know,' _he panted as he lay back down. _'I knew that. I just didn't want to die in that place. Now pup, think you can help me go a little further? I want to see something one last time before I die.'_

He struggled to get back up, and Kagome, instinctively, put her head underneath his own and helped him to walk again. _'But Kitsue, if you don't stop then you'll bleed to death!'_

'_Even if I stopped to rest,' _Kitsue explained to her, _'I know that there wasn't any hope for me. I don't mind dying, I just want to die in a place where I can see the cliffs.'_

He must've seen the heartbroken look on Kagome's face for he said, _'Don't be so sad pup. You and I just met. You shouldn't feel like this. At least you're helping me now.'_

'_But I promised Inuyasha…'_

'_Oh, who cares what that impatient pup says?' _Kitsue said annoyed. _'He may rule the pack but he still has a lot to learn.'_

Kagome didn't ask what he meant because it seemed to be taking a big toll on Kitsue. She continued walking wherever he told her to go. But with every step he took, the weaker he seemed to become. '_Come on Kitsue,'_ she said to him once, _'You can pull through this. Think of Shippo. He just lost his mother, if you go then he'll have no one.'_

'_He'll have his friends and the rest of his pack,'_ Kitsue answered her. _'He'll be alright. It's not like he'll be completely alone.'_

They continued on their way until Kitsue told her, _'Stop… this place will do. You can put me down.'_

Unwillingly, Kagome did what he asked her to. He flopped down onto his side in the cover of some trees and boulders. A place where they hopefully couldn't be seen.

He seemed to give her a wolfy smile as he turned his head to the east, there in the distance, you could just make out the images of the tall, white cliffs. _'Beautiful aren't they?' _he asked her._ 'I can't even begin to remember all the cold winters I've spent up there. It's where I met my dearest Amaya. The only place where our pack was safe.'_

'_But if it's so safe for you,'_ Kagome asked as she lay down next to him. _'Why don't you just live up there?'_

'_So young,' _he muttered before he answered. _'There's hardly any food up there. The best we can get is the occasional goat or hawk. Down here, food is much easier to come by. During most of the year, its safe for us, it's only when it gets cold like this that calls the humans.'_

'_But you all waited a lot longer to leave?' _she asked, though she already knew the answer.

'_Ayame,'_ he gasped back. _'She's very near to having her own pups and she can't handle a big trip like that all in one go.'_

His ears suddenly straightened up and he froze.

'_What is it?'_ she asked him worriedly.

'_Can you not hear them?'_ he panted. _'Just stay quiet and don't move.'_

Kagome didn't understand… that is until she heard the muttering of human voices. She also froze and put her head as close to the ground as she could, hoping that they wouldn't see her or Kitsue.

"Can you believe our luck?" a human male said grudgingly. "We finally catch a blasted wolf and we get distracted by Quicksilver!"

"It's not everyday you get a glimpse of the legendary wolf!" another human said. "Even the best boys around here say that he's the big prize."

"Yeah," his buddy said. "But as soon as we finally catch Russet, he appears, leads us on a wild goose chase and then just disappears!"

"Good point, that Quicksilver—he's some kind of ghost or something I think. But what happened to Russet? I didn't think that any creature could walk away with a wound like that. But he'll no doubt bleed to death soon enough. He won't get far."

Kagome moved closer to Kitsue's side, feeling afraid. The humans would undoubtedly come after her as well. She was glad to hear the Inuyasha got away, but she was more afraid for the two of them at the moment.

'_Stay calm,'_ Kitsue whispered to her. _'If we don't move, then they're less likely to find us. They think that we wolves are dumb and that they can outwit us easily.'_

Kagome was as still as a statue as the men's voices grew closer. "It's going to be so cool when we finally find Russet. Can you imagine the looks on those loser's faces when we show them one of the top dogs?"

"Yeah," and Kagome was furious that she could detect a smile in his voice. "But stop talking and start looking before some other bloke comes along and tries to take the credit."

She could see them now. And for the first time she could see how humans looked to wolves. They were carrying around guns on their shoulders like they were big shots, stupid smiles were on their faces as they talked about killing… Kagome couldn't help but wonder… did she look like them before this?

She forgot about every monster movie she ever saw. Those make-believe monsters were nothing compared to this. For that moment, she could see that there were no greater monsters than humans. It made her feel sick to her stomach.

They walked right passed their hiding spot and were out of her sight in no time. Kagome sighed in relief as she turned her attention back to Kitsue. He didn't look good at all.

'_Kitsue?'_ she asked him, _'Please, don't give up now! I'm sure that we can…'_

'_Can what?' _he replied with a trace as a sad smile. _'No wolf has survived long after getting attacked with those metal weapons. It won't be long now.'_

Kagome was about to tell him to shut up and save his breath when she heard more footsteps. But these didn't sound like they belonged to humans this time, but she still hid as whoever they were came running towards them.

Finally she sniffled, and picked up Inuyasha wonderful scent. '_INUYASHA!'_ she howled as she came charging out of her hiding place. In the distance she could see the silver wolf bounding towards her, looking tired and a little woebegone.

'_What are you doing?' _he howled back angrily. _'There could still be hunters around!'_

'_I'm sorry,' _she cried. _'But… Kitsue…'_

'_What's wrong?'_ he panted as he finally came to a stop in front of her.

'_He's hurt!'_ she whimpered as she led him back to the dying wolf. _'I don't know what to do.'_

The pack leader came over to his friend and nudged him in the side, the place where the ruby blood was now pouring from. _'Kitsue,'_ he said gruffly.

Kitsue seemed to smirk as he barely glanced at him. _'What kind of trouble did you get yourself into this time?' _he asked him weakly.

'_Now is not the time for you to joke around,' _Inuyasha told him._ 'I led them all away, but two came back looking for you.'_

'_I know,'_ Kagome spoke up as she came over to him. _'We saw them, but they just walked passed us. They were looking for him.'_

'_I know that,' _he said bitterly. _'Kitsue…'_

'_No point beating around the bush,'_ he said as he licked the bullet wound _'Don't worry about me. I won't feel anything much longer. You better make sure that you get everyone else up to the cliffs before even more hunters come.'_

Inuyasha placed his nose against his side again, _'You don't need to worry about that. I'm sorry for coming so late though.'_

'_Ah, you're just a pup compared to me. Better an old dog to be killed,'_ Kitsue told him. _'Just promise me that you'll look out for the others.'_

'_You can count on it,' _Inuyasha promised.

Kagome was feeling a little out of place, but before she could do anything, Kitsue said, _'You? Young one?'_

'_Yes?'_ Kagome said quickly.

'_You aren't like any other wolf I've ever seen,' _he told her. _'But at the same time, you're spirit is more wild than most. I know we just met, but can you also do me a favor?'_

'_Of course,' _Kagome whimpered as she came forward.

'_Like you said,'_ Kitsue explained as his breathing got shorter and harsher. Talking long seemed to be painful for him. _'If I die, I'll be leaving Shippo… without a mother or father. Would it be… too much… to much trouble if you keep an eye on him? He's going to… need all the comfort… he can get. He's a good boy but he's such a…'_

'_Crybaby?'_ Inuyasha added helpfully.

'_Inuyasha!'_ Kagome snapped at him.

'_Sensitive, is would be a better word,' _Kitsue commented. _'Could you help and look after him until he is ready to do it on his own?'_

'_Yes,'_ Kagome said. It wasn't like she had anywhere else to go, and she knew that her safest bet was to be with Inuyasha and his pack until she figured out what to do. Besides, it wasn't much, but at least she would be making up for what her father did to Shippo's parents. _'I'll take care of him for you. You have my word.'_

He gave another one of his dog grins and said_, 'You're a good pup. As for you Inuyasha, you always were a bit hot-headed and stubborn.'_

'_Oh,'_ Inuyasha said without any real heat. _'Even when you're about to die, you still have time to insult me?'_

Kitsue went on as if he didn't hear anything, _'You always were hotheaded and stubborn…' his eyes closed, 'But that's what I liked about you. Take care of everyone.'_

And with those final words… the great red wolf became still and his breathing stopped.

Kagome stared. Just a minute ago… he was alive. A proud wolf with a son and friends who she was sure cared for him. And now because of some selfish humans—he was gone.

Inuyasha gently nudged Kitsue's head, which just flopped uselessly. _'Idiot,'_ he said. _'And he was always the one that was telling me to be careful in a fight.'_

He reared back his head and began to howl loudly. His song sounded unbearably sad and Kagome knew it was a lament for a fallen warrior. Feeling that she too should do something, she joined in with him and began her own song sad. She may not have known Kitsue long, but she still felt as though she had lost an old friend.

Was this just another wolf thing?

After about a minute of sad howling, they both stopped. _'We have to go,'_ he said to her grimly.

'_But Kitsue,'_ she said with another sad look at the old wolf.

'_There's nothing more we can do for him,'_ he said. '_The humans will find us soon if we don't hurry and leave. You ready to die? Then stay here.'_

Kagome was about to start another argument when he then said, '_If we don't hurry and find everyone else then we could end up losing them also. You promised him that you would look after Shippo right?'_

That got her, she stood up and followed him. _'We'll come back for him later,'_ he promised her. _'But right now, the living is much more important.'_

And without another word or glance at her, he bolted. Kagome blinked in surprise before she began to follow. This was definitely not one of her better days.

**(Finally, these chapters are getting harder and harder to write. I'm running really low on idea for this story. But I hope that you all enjoyed it nonetheless. Please review.)**


	9. Damaged Pride

_**Chapter 9: Damaged Pride**_

**(Friends stick by each other. If your friend's having fun, you have fun. If they need help, you help them. But what would happen if your friends were in danger and the only way to help them would be to put your own life on the line? Question is… could you do it?)**

The thought of Kitsue's death was weighing heavily on Kagome's mind. She didn't want to think—didn't want to feel the stinging pain in her heart. She might not have known Kitsue but she felt like she just lost a very dear friend. Was this because she was once human and it was humans who killed him? Or perhaps it was because of her father helping to kill Kitsue's mate which lead to him trying to avenge her death?

Luckily, it was easy for her to forget all about Kitsue as she ran after Qui… Inuyasha. He ran even faster than before if that was possible and she could understand why everyone gave him the nickname Quicksilver—he was just a flash of silvery-white as he darted pass the trees, and it took everything that Kagome had just to keep up.

'_You need to hurry up!' _he yelled back at her. _'Even pubs run faster than you!'_

'_I'm sorry!' _she cried as she struggled to keep him in her sights. _'I just haven't run all that much.'_

'_You must've been lazy then,' _he growled as he was so far ahead, that she could hardly see him. _'A wolf your age should be able to keep up easy!'_

Feeling annoyed she said,_ 'I said that I'm sorry, but I hurt my foot helping Kitsue!'_

It wasn't a complete lie, her paws were aching from all the running and felt raw as she forced herself to take a step. She felt bad about using Kitsue's recent death as an excuse, but what else could she do? Inuyasha stopped running for a moment to look back at her. _'Sorry,' _he said rather gruffly._ 'But I'm worried about my pack. If we don't find them then anyone of them could be killed next.'_

'_I understand,'_ she said quickly as she finally caught up to him. _'I would be worried to. But do you even know where to find them?'_

He blinked at her, and stared as if she was crazy. _'You must've been alone for a long time.' He decided. 'Any wolf would know how to find their pack.'_

His ears twisted around like satellite dishes before he stuck his nose close to the earth and took several deep breaths.

'_Their scents,'_ he told her. _'You smell and memorize their scents like you've done with mine.'_

For a minute, she didn't understand what he meant, but as she drew close next to him, she picked up his pine/salty/fresh/spicy scent that she loved so dearly.

So feeling stupid, she put her nose close to the ground and breathed in deeply. She expected to smell nothing but dirt—but she was amazed to see that she could pick up several scents. One was a wonderful floral scent… something like lilies? The second scent was of autumn leaves and… ink? Why would a wolf smell like ink? She put that out of her mind as she picked up the third and final scent… it was of bonfire and something sweet like candy. But what got her the most was just how familiar this last smell was to Kitsue…

'_These scents belong to three of my pack members,'_ Inuyasha said once she raised her head and looked at him. _'The one that smells like flowers belongs to Sango. The one with leaves is Miroku, and the last one is Shippo… Kitsue's son.'_

Kagome nodded in understanding. Yes, she understood… she didn't like how everything was happening, but she would do whatever she had to help.

Inuyasha, realizing that they were wasting time turned his head and said, _'This way. I know that they're down a little further.'_ Kagome started running as soon as Inuyasha said those words, knowing that he was about to take off. Sure enough, he was already taking the lead even though she started off first.

'_Here's the plan,'_ he told her as his tongue rolled as of his mouth and he panted. _'I'll lead the hunters away, you help to get them out of the area and up the cliffs.'_

'_But I don't know the way,'_ she called back as she struggled to keep up.

'_You don't need to,'_ he said, sounding frustrated. _'They all know how to get there, you just have to help them_ _in any way you can.'_

'_But…' _Kagome began worriedly, she couldn't believe that she was doing this._ 'What about you? What if you get hurt?'_

'_I'll be fine! It's you and the others you have to worry about!'_ he roared back. But before she could come up with a retort, they heard the sound the sound of more gunshots ringing through the air, along with the howls of wolves…

Kagome felt her heart sink. No… would her kind really be responsible for the death of another pack member of Inuyasha's? Was it her father or someone she knew that slaughtered another innocent life?

To her great astonishment, Inuyasha let out a howl of cruel laughter. _'Those humans… they think that they can kill us off that easily? They need to learn how to aim.'_

Kagome didn't understand what he meant. But then she heard the howling echoing around them again and realized that this was different from the one that Kitsue howled. This was angry… as if the wolf was getting ready to protect its territory.

Understanding that no one was dead—yet, she and Inuyasha broke through a thick cluster of trees—and then she finally saw them…

Six… I repeat, six wolves were all standing there, gathered against a giant boulder and about 9 hunters with their guns and nets cornering them.

Three of the wolves were standing with their backs against the rock, while the other three stood right in front of them, blocking them from the hunters view.

The ones in the back looked much younger, in fact the smallest one looked like he was still a puppy. He had deep orange-red fur with a flickering tail that looked like it belonged more to a fox than a wolf.

The second youngest looked just a little bit older than the red one with a lighter gray color and he had such the sweatiest looking face that she had ever seen. How could anyone be cold-hearted enough to hurt a face like that.

The final wolf that was standing with them looked much older, and was bigger… but Kagome could tell that she was definitely a female. She had a beautiful peach color fur coat and a large, swollen belly… oh—Kagome realized that this must've been the pregnant wolf that Inuyasha called Ayame.

The other three wolves that were standing in front of them had their teeth bared at the hunters, as if daring them to try and come any closer. There were two males, and a strong looking female that looked ready to go down fighting. One of the males was a beautiful blue-grey and blue-greenish color—the shade of fog or perhaps a darkened moon and he had an impish grin, like he was already thinking of a cleaver way to get them out of this mess.

The second male was of a deep brown, almost a chestnut color and he was the one that looked the most dangerous. He was showing more fangs than the other two and there was a wild look in his eyes as if he thought that if he lost this fight then he would lose everything. That look scared her for a moment before the last female took a step forward and looked like she wanted to be the first one to attack.

She was also a very beautiful wolf with fur that looked almost a navy blue with a tint of red around her eyes like war paint. Out of all them, Kagome could tell that she had the longest claws that could easily take down anyone…

All in all, this was one pack that you shouldn't mess with.

Inuyasha let out a howl of rage and before anyone could turn and look at him, he came flying out of nowhere and right in front of his pack. Perhaps Kagome was listening to her canine instincts, but before she could stop herself, she copied Inuyasha, and flew herself next to him with the wolf pack behind her.

'_What…?'_

'_Who are…?'_

'_What took you so long dog breath?'_

All these words came from the wolves. _'We can talk after we get out of here!'_ Inuyasha howled at them before he turned to Kagome and snarled angrily, _'You were supposed to stay back and let me take care of this!'_

'_Well, sorry,'_ Kagome snapped back. _'But you didn't really expect me to sit back and watch you all get killed did you?'_

'_I thought that you said that we can talk after we get out of here!'_ yelled the peach-colored female—Ayame.

That snapped Inuyasha back into battle mode. He growled fiercely at the hunters, who were looking thrilled that they were going to catch the pack leader. It made Kagome sick to watch their happy faces. Really… how can anyone be so cruel to think that killing something for fun be… fun?

She decided that if she ever got out of this mess, and ever became a human again, she would do everything in her power to help put a stop to hunting once and for all. Really, maybe people should get turned into animals more often, let them see how '_fun'_ it is to be hunted.

She reared back her head and began to let out a ghostly howl, hoping that it would scare the hunters, and also to let them know that she wasn't going to stand for them attacking anyone else. They blinked in surprise at her howl and a few of them even took a step back.

"Where'd she come from?" a hunter with a mullet haircut and red shirt asked nervously. "I've never seen her around here before."

"Must be a new addition to their pack," a balding man next to him replied. "See, they're multiplying! We've got to finish them all off before their pack gets any bigger!" he then pointed his gun at Ayame, who looked like she was having trouble standing up.

"Hurry up and kill the females off," he snarled.

'_Over my dead body you will!'_ called out the strong, brown male as he put himself right in front of Ayame.

'_You want anyone,'_ Inuyasha growled, (Literally and figuratively) _'Then you have to get through me!'_

'_Inuyasha,'_ the one with the impish grin replied, _'We need to get out of here, Ayame can't take much more—and Shippo wants to hurry up and find Kitsue before we head to the cliffs.'_ He then turned to Kagome and asked, _'And might I ask, who are you?'_

Kagome didn't answer. Realizing now who that little red wolf was… how was she supposed to look after a wolf pup if she didn't even know what she was supposed to do to survive herself?

Thankfully, Inuyasha answered and said, _'She's that wolf that we heard in the area lately. She's here to help and you're all going to escape back into the cliffs you hear?'_

'_But what about you?'_ Kagome asked worriedly as the hunters were getting ready.

'_Like before,'_ Inuyasha told her, _'I'll drive them away.'_

He then turned to the blue male and said, _'Miroku—is there anyone else hurt?'_

'_No,'_ he answered a little sourly. _'But except my pride.'_

'_Keh,'_ Inuyasha snorted. _'What pride?'_

Miroku looked like he was about to throw back some smart remark but Inuyasha said, _'Now isn't the time for us to fight this out. You help get the others out of here. I'll try to get you all some time… but I'm afraid that I won't be able to keep them all busy for long.'_

'_Right,'_ Miroku said as he turned to the others. _'Koga,'_ he said to the brown wolf. _'You help Ayame. Kohaku?' _he then asked the grey,_ 'You and Shippo watch each other's tails.'_

He then looked at the other female and said,_ 'Sango my dearest…' _

'_I know what to do,'_ she said irritated. _'And I'm not your dearest.'_

'_Kagome?' _Inuyasha whispered for her. Her ears swirled around to catch his words, _'You go with them. I think I can buy you all about a minute… a minute and a half if I do a good job. Which means that you only have that much time to get them all out of the area. But once you all start running, they'll never be able to catch you.' _

He then smiled to himself, _'There's never been a human who could outrun any of us.'_

'_You got that right,' _Sango said as she stooped down in front of the grey one called Kohaku. _'As much as I hate running away from the likes of them…' _

'_Sister,' _whispered Kohaku, looking scared.

'_Don't worry,' _she said soothingly. _'I'll make sure that we get out of this.'_

'_Yo, dog-breath,'_ called the brown whose name was Koga. He put his snout underneath Ayame and said, _'Try not to mess this up.'_

'_Keh,' _he replied. _'Please, I have to tear you apart before I die.'_

Kagome then noticed that one of the hunters was pulling out a large net, large enough to trap them all in. _'Inu… Inuyasha?'_ she began in a scared voice as she drew closer to him, feeling more secure with him by her side.

'_Just follow the others,'_ he said back to her quickly as he crouched low, getting ready to spring. '_Just keep up with them and make sure that no one gets left behind. Trust me, I can deal with these lowlifes.' _

They briefly looked at each other's eyes before she nodded in understanding. _'Please…'_ she said to him softly. _'Be careful.'_

She could've sworn that she saw him smirk. _'I told you not to worry about me. Worry about yourself and the others.'_

'_Get ready,'_ Sango growled as she moved to the two youngest pack members. _'Wait until they shoot… dodge it… and then make a break for it.'_

Kagome turned back to the hunters and very slowly they raised the guns up to eye level and took careful aim. _'Get ready…'_ Inuyasha said to them and she poised herself in a position to dodge. The hunter pointed the gun at Inuyasha, and said, "You're nothing… but targets."

He pulled the trigger… and then all hell broke loose.

**(Yay, I was having such a hard time with this chapter. Hope you all enjoyed it! The next one will be going up as soon as I finish it, promise!)**


	10. Broken Down Dog

_**Chapter 10: Broken Down Dog**_

**(There are thousands of different animals on earth. Most we know, but a lot are still a mystery. Animals that live in the deepest oceans… or unexplored jungles. We don't know much about them because they have no contact with humans and they live by a set of rules that we know nothing about. So imagine if one of these animals was brought into our world. What would happen? Would it adjust to us and live in peace? Or would it play by its own rules? The rules of a game we have no chance of winning?)**

Inuyasha leapt forward and hit the man who shot the bullet (and missed) in the chest with his front paws so hard that he knocked him down onto his backside. For a moment, Kagome was sure that Inuyasha was going to tear him to shreds, but instead he just grabbed the gun with his teeth and leapt off just before a net was thrown from one of the other hunters and ended up trapping his buddy instead.

"GET ME OUT OF THIS THING!" the hunter screamed, trying to get the heavy net off him.

Good, maybe now he'll have some idea what it's like to be trapped. Kagome then turned to the others who were already turning tail and running. Kagome didn't need anyone to tell her what to do this time; she raced after them, running side by side with Shippo and Kohaku. Kagome was surprised that she could keep up with the pack despite all the running that she already did today. She felt as though someone had injected her with a gallon of Red Bull and she felt like she could run all day.

They darted through trees—and jumped over boulders as they ran as far as they could from the humans that were after their lives. Kagome looked back in time to see Inuyasha give one last howl of warning to the humans before he turned and darted off in the opposite direction to try and divert their attention away from his pack.

Her tongue rolling out of her mouth as she for air, her body aching all over from all the running that she did all day, and her feet now felt as though someone had rubbed them raw with sandpaper.

But she didn't stop. She kept going, knowing that if she couldn't stay with them, then she was as good as dead. Humans were now after her as well as her new friends. She may not have been a wolf for long, but she knew that being a lone wolf in this forest meant death. She just kept her eyes on the two young pups in front of her and prayed for the best.

And silently praying that Inuyasha was safe.

Once in awhile, they heard the sounds of yells or more shots of gunfire going off somewhere far behind them, and every time they did—Kagome was overcome with worry for Inuyasha. Was he hurt… or worse… dead?

She shuddered at the thought and tried to force it out of her head. She wanted her mother… to wake up and go back to yesterday when she was human and the only thing she had to worry about was her brother. Oh, her heart gave a pang for Sota and her parents… her family must be pitching a fit right about now.

_*Not long later*_

Kagome had enough. She didn't think that she could any farther… she had long since forgotten just how long they've been going in this direction—but it had to have been at least half an hour by now. The sun was starting to set. To be honest, she was surprised that she lasted this long—had she been in her human form, she would've passed out long before now.

As tired as she was however, she didn't want to be the wolf who asked them all to stop and rest… but she also knew there was no way that she could keep this up…

Thankfully, the wolf called Koga called out to them all and stopped dead in his tracks. _'Listen, we have to rest __**now**__.'_

'_Koga,'_ panted Sango as she stopped also and turned her head to look at him. Everyone else followed suit, and Kagome almost collapse with gratitude. But as for Shippo and Kohaku… they on the other hand all slumped down and started to wheeze for air. _'We're all tired, Koga,' _Miroku gasped._ 'But we can't stop here…'_

'_We have to!'_ he barked back before looking behind him. Kagome followed his gaze, and in the distance, she could make out the exhausted form of Ayame slowly walking towards them. With a howl of worry, Koga went running to meet her before leaning his head against her side.

She leaned into his touch and allowed him to help her walk up the steep hill that they were in the middle of climbing. _'What are we going to do?'_ Miroku rasped to Sango. _'We've been pushing everyone a lot farther than we should've done. If we could stay here for the next Cold then it'll be so much easier on Ayame…'_

'_But we can't stay here!'_ Sango barked at him. _'You know as well as I do that's when the hunters all come! We'll all be dead by the time the Cold leaves.'_

'_The Cold?'_ Kagome couldn't help but ask as she lay down on her side to try and give her stinging paws a rest. _'What? Are any of you sick or something?'_

They both looked at her as if she was crazy. _'The big Cold,'_ Sango repeated slowly. _'You know… when everything freezes and the hunters come for us.'_

Kagome then realized that they must've been talking about hunting season in winter. _'Oh,' _she answered. _'Where I'm from, we call it winter.'_

'_Winter?'_ repeated Kohaku to her left_. 'That's a funny name.'_

'_I've heard worse,' _Shippo gasped as he shut his eyes and looked ready to fall asleep. Kagome looked at him and she would've smiled if she could. Shippo was just so damn ADORABLE! She just wanted to bury her face in that beautiful red fur… in fact, he looked more like a great big, red fox than a wolf.

'_Yes, yes,' _Miroku said as he came forward to survey Kagome though his bright, black eyes. Kagome glanced up to get a better look at him. Wow, he was the most beautiful shade of blue-grey and blue-greenish color—almost like the darkened moon.

'_Where exactly did you come from?' _Miroku asked her. _'I don't believe that I've ever seen you here before… and I don't remember seeing you from either one of the other two packs…'_

'_I'm…' _Kagome began. What was she going to tell them? Hey, I was once a human whose family is after your lives? Yeah, she could see that would go over real well. She remembered what Inuyasha had said and told them, _'I come from a pack that's pretty… far away…'_

'_Oh, I get it!' _Shippo said happily. _'You must be that wolf that we all heard singing a couple nights ago!'_ He leapt up and started to climb on top of her, as if wanting to play. _'You had the prettiest pack-song I ever heard.'_

Pack-song? What on earth were they talking about? Did he mean her howling? Rather than ask him that, she said, _'Ah, yeah… that was me.'_

'_Ah, that explains it,'_ Miroku stated. _'We couldn't find you no matter how hard we looked. We didn't hear from you again since that night and were worried that the hunters might have gotten you.'_

Sango came over and put her nose into her fur and breathed in her scent, while at the same time, letting Kagome breath in hers. She recognized it at once as the smell of lilies…

'_So what pack are you from?' _Sango asked her as she raised her head, apparently satisfied.

'_Ah…'_ Kagome began before going back to the lie earlier. _'I don't have a pack… not anymore anyway.'_

'_That's too bad,'_ Shippo said as he began to play with her tail._ 'It happens all the time. If the pack leader has a problem with them, they have to leave.'_

Miroku bent down and also smelled her scent, while Kagome picked up the scent of ink and leaves off him… in fact, he smelled almost like old scrolls._ 'You don't look or smell like you're from the wolf packs that live up in Bigfoot Ridge,' _he said suddenly._ 'Where do you hail from?'_

'_Far away,' _Kagome told him._ 'I was coming up here with my family—ah, my pack… and well… one thing led to another…'_

'_That's a little harsh,'_ said Koga's rough voice, and she turned in time to see him and Ayame make their way towards them. _'You must've done something bad for them to kick you out. What did you do?'_

'_I didn't do anything bad,'_ she growled at them, surprising herself just how easy it came to her at that moment. _'But my pack just didn't approve of… ah, how I turned out to be. Let's just say that they had different expectations for me and… I thought that it would be for the best if I just ran away.'_

'_You took off on your own?'_ Ayame asked as she lay down on the forest floor next to her, and turned to her side so she wouldn't hurt her swollen belly. _'That took some real guts.'_

Kagome shrugged. _'What can you do?'_

'_You don't seem to upset about it,'_ Sango asked her concerned.

Kagome put her head down on her front paws and told them, _'I am upset. But… what else can I do? I want to go back to them, but if I do, I'm pretty sure that they'll kill me.'_

'_Wow,'_ Shippo whispered hoarsely as he climbed onto her back. Kagome felt the need to laugh at his playfulness. He was just so CUTE! _'That sounds as harsh as the wolf pack who lives up north. That pack leader threatens to kill anyone who he doesn't need any more. So if you don't run off when you have the chance, you're dead. There are a bunch of lone wolves up there because of him.'_

'_And yet,'_ Koga said, a little suspiciously. _'You don't look like one of them. And the only other pack that is even remotely in this area lives much farther east. But you don't look like you're from there either.'_

Oh, crap. What was she supposed to say to that? But before she could think of a good reply, Sango said, _'I'm sure we can talk about this later, we have to keep going.'_

'_But Ayame,'_ Koga said, turning around to look at his mate who was still on the ground, struggling for breath.

'_I'll be fine,'_ she told him as she struggled to her feet. _'The sooner we get to Bigfoot Ridge, the safer that we'll be and I can rest then.'_

'_Bigfoot Ridge?'_ Kagome asked them confused.

'_It's what the humans call those cliffs,'_ Kohaku explained jerking with his head to the cliffs in the distance. It was funny—they had been running all this time, and yet they didn't look any closer to her. '_Humans never go there,' _Kohaku went on._ 'We'll be safe there until they leave the forest. For some reason it's only during the Cold, or winter as you call it, do they come around.'_

That's because that's the only time of the year when hunters are allowed to hunt. Kagome was about to tell them this when Koga snapped.

'_Yeah, good for them. But we're going to be facing near starvation while we're up there… again! Remember what happened last time? We almost ended up eating each other we were so hungry! Aside for the occasional goat or deer, there's hardly anything to hunt up there. That's not enough for us to live on until it gets warmer.'_

'_What other choice do we have?'_ Miroku asked him as he wagged his tail in an irritated way. _'We can't stay here! No matter how much food there is! With the hunters stalking us, we would be risking our lives every single day! There is no way that we can survive until they leave! Besides, I find it very unlikely we can hunt anything with them scaring every animal away!'_

Koga just gave him a dirty look as he turned to help Ayame. Kagome shifted unhappily. It was her fault that they were suffering like this. Sure, she wasn't the one who was actually doing this of course, but she might as well have been. After all, she actually helped her father and brother go out and set traps! Now they were all going to be cold and hungry all winter because her kind was after them.

She wanted to crawl under a rock or something and die, but then she heard Koga and Ayame talking again.

'_You couldn't have picked a worse time to have pups,'_ he told her.

She gave him an incredulous look and barked, _'Well, it's not like I had this __**planned**__ out! It's your fault for not wanting to wait to start a family! I told you that we should've waited… but did you listen? NOOOO!'_

'_Aright, alright,'_ he said uncomfortably with a glance over at the others who were all laughing at him, Kagome loudest of all. Sure she didn't know them all that well yet… but they were acting no different than any other couple she knew.

They just had four legs and tails is all.

Animals really aren't so different from them after all.

Sango also got Kohaku and Shippo up onto their feet and they all started to walk again. But she did take some comfort in that idea that there was no need for them to run now, which Kagome was grateful for. Kagome felt as though she was walking on burned paws, they were stinging so badly—but she just gritted her teeth and dealt with it. Hoping that things would go better for her soon. She clumsily followed the rest of her pack… wait her **pack**? When did she start feeling like that?

This new wolf brain was doing something to her.

Nevertheless, she just followed the others up the hill and through a part of the forest that was filled with much thicker trees. After a few minutes, Miroku drew back to walk beside her and said, _'We don't have to worry about wasting so much energy here. Humans don't come through this part that often. Must be hard for them to move with all those heavy metal things.'_

'_Guns,'_ she corrected automatically.

'_What?'_ Shippo asked her curiously.

'_Oh, I ah… guns. I heard some of those hunters call them that,' _she made up quickly.

'_Guns?'_ Sango repeated. _'Stupid name.'_

'_Sister?'_ Kohaku suddenly whined, sounding like a little kid in the backseat on a long car trip. _'Just how far do we have to go until we reach Bigfoot Ridge?'_

Sango gave him a tired look but said patiently, _'You know the way as well as I do. First, we have to cross the rest of these woods before we reach the river. We'll have to cross it before we reach the foot of the cliffs. Once we're there, we have to start the long trek up the side of the cliff. That's where we'll be safe. There are plenty of caves that we'll be able to hide in. It should be safe for all of us until the hunters leave.'_

Kagome felt her insides freeze. She gave a half-glance back to Ayame, who seemed really disorientated on her feet and was leaning heavily into Koga's side. If they really had to cross miles and miles through a forest, cross a river, and climb a cliff with her about to give birth… this was going to be extremely hard on her and her pups.

She suspected that under normal circumstances, Ayame would have been able to do all that stuff easily. But if there was one thing she learned when her mother was pregnant with Sota, it's that everything seems harder for an expecting mother.

Koga must've been thinking along the same lines because he said, _'But that's going to take forever! Ayame can't handle all that!'_

'_Wanna bet?'_ she hissed at him through gritted teeth, making them all jump in surprise. _'I can handle it. Just make sure to find the biggest and comfiest cave you can. Because I'm going to be living in it until the weather gets better.'_

'_You got it,'_ Miroku laughed. _'We'll rest once we get to the river. And…'_

But he never had a chance to finish his sentence. They suddenly heard the sound of padded paws running behind them. They all turned around and barred their teeth—their ears pulled back. Even Kagome, though she didn't understand when her wolf instincts took over. They all waited… expecting to see the figure of a human running towards them with a gun pointed at someone.

But then Kagome picked up its familiar scent.

'_Inuyasha!'_ she called out as she relaxed. Good, he made it back to them alive. But there was something strange about Inuyasha's scent this time. Something was mixed in with his wonderful spicy, outdoorsy smell that she loved. There was an iron, metallic smell to it… the exact smell that covered Kitsue when he was shot…

She took a timid step forward and to her relief saw him running towards them, darting between the trees. But then to her horror, she realized that he was limping… and his beautiful silver fur was stained in a ruby-red liquid.

He had been shot.

**(Hey, I'm finally done with this chapter! Sorry for taking so long as usual. But this is a hard story. But I was kinda wondering if anyone else liked those little previews that I do at the beginning of the chapter? I just wanted to ask if I should do them all for the rest of my chapters. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and sorry about the Cliffhanger… I love doing that to you all. ;-)**


	11. The Taste of Blood

_**Chapter 11: The Taste of Blood**_

**(Things are born and things die, that's the way it goes. But if you're gonna step in and take nature into your own hands, then you better be ready to handle the outcome.)**

'_Inuyasha!'_ Kagome yelled and she dashed forward to help him. He limped over to her as she reached him and barked in a surprisingly strong voice, _'I'm fine! Get off me!'_

'_Inuyasha,'_ she howled in panic, _'You're hurt! You've been shot!'_ She looked at the gaping hole in his side.

He butted his head against hers and said in a calmer tone, _'I'll live. It's only a flesh wound.'_ He pushed her a little stiffly with his head as he forced himself to stand tall and walk. _'It's not as bad as it looks,' _he assured her.

She didn't believe him, but she didn't want to argue when he was in such bad shape. She kept a close eye on him as they both walked to the rest of the pack.

'_I led them all the opposite way!'_ he told them all as he trudged up to greet them all as they all came to him, looking as worried as Kagome did and they all stared at his wound. _'I told you all I'm fine! I just got a little bit… careless that's all! We need to get out while they're busy!'_

Kagome could tell that the others weren't happy about this, but they did what he said and they all turned and started walking again, some of them, having to go slower because of tiredness or injuries.

Kagome kept her eye on Inuyasha, Shippo, and Ayame… though she didn't need to bother with Ayame, Koga was doing that job for her.

But she couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from the bleeding hole in Inuyasha's right side. He noticed her looking and told her, _'It doesn't hurt that much, believe it or not. I've had far worse injuries.'_

'_I find that hard to believe,' _she told him.

'_Really,' _he explained with his sly grin._ 'I'll be sure to tell you more about it once we get to Demon's_ _Ridge.'_

'_Demon's what?'_ she repeated, thinking she heard wrong.

'_It's what the humans call the cliffs,'_ he told her, sounding a little exasperated by how little she knew. _'I overheard some humans talking about it when I was just a pup and the name just stuck. That's __what we call it now.'_

'_Why can't people go there?'_ Kagome had to ask as they ducked underneath some low-hanging branches.

'_Don't know,'_ he answered. _'But I personally think that it's because they can't get up those boulders. We can all climb it easily. But there's no why they could ever hope to get up there on two legs. Sorry, but could you not talk to me until we reach the river? I'm a bit winded.'_

Kagome nodded as she just kept walking besides him.

They continued on and she could see dark, rich green ferns by the base of the trees, just between rocks and mushrooms. She never could tell what mushrooms were ok to eat and ones that could kill people, not that she ever liked the taste of mushrooms… or be able to eat them now that she was a wolf come to think of it. The path then became broken and littered with branches bare from too much rain and wind, and not enough sun, for, in this part of the forest in this particular neck of the woods the mighty spruce and fir mix along with the pine, all in a line straight and true like the official sentinels they were.

She kicked a pinecone along the ground and then another only to hear a squirrel running by as if to say, "Hey, that's my dinner there." And she laughed at the little squirrel as Shippo ran forward to try and catch it. With playtime sadly put away Inuyasha continued to lead the way to a small, crackling creek almost completely invisible by the tall grass.

"Beautiful," whispered Kagome. She had never seen such a lovely sight as the creek that was flowing with speedy delight and the glistening beauty of it all a glow.

It flowed over the rocks while making pretty white peaks and it rolls with rapid grace all the way down. The rustling water makes a wonderful sound, like a tiny whisper from a beloved one, as the water flowed by, its beauty only grew. This was a beautiful memory that she never wanted to forget. Never forget how the petals of the flowers and blossoms float down onto the water and be carried away. Never forget how cold, clean, and clear the water was, never forget the sound of it whispering to her, as if it was an old friend. To never forget the magic that nature can bring to this world.

Kagome gasped at the pure beauty and immediately stuck her head into it to get a long drink. This water was cold and she couldn't remember having anything sweeter and didn't want to stop. She kept going until she had to come up for air. After repeating this several times, she finally felt like she had enough and then stepped her aching paws into the water and felt a huge sense of relief go through her. She heard splashing next to her, and she looked up to see Shippo jumping around in the water and playing with Kohaku.

She watched them both splash each other for a minute before she looked to the others to see how they were doing.

Sango was busy licking her front paw, which looked red-raw and she was panting for air as she occasionally stuck her snout into the river. Miroku was lying flat on his belly, with his eyes closed and he seemed to have passed out. She couldn't help but chuckle at that, before she looked over at Koga and Ayame. Ayame was lying on her side, struggling for breath as Koga went to the water and as quick as a flash, brought back a large fish for her—which she ate in just a few mouthfuls.

She smiled at the couple before glancing at Inuyasha next to her who had his head twisted around to lick the still bleeding bullet hole.

'_Are you sure that you're ok?' _Kagome asked him worriedly as she leaned down next to him.

'_I'll be fine,'_ he told her for the millionth time, though he was having trouble reaching the wound.

'_But it hasn't stopped bleeding yet!' _Kagome told him scared.

'_Only cause I can't reach it,' _he said a little frustrated._ 'I don't suppose you can do it for me?'_

'_Do what?' _she asked confused.

'_Clean it,' _he answered as if he thought that she was dim, finally giving up and looking at her.

Kagome looked at the wound and felt her stomach lurch horribly as if she was about to be sick. If only she could get Inuyasha to a vet… but that was impossible like this. She didn't want to do it, but she wanted to do something to help him.

'_You sure that will help?' _she asked him.

'_I know that only pack members are to do this,' _he answered as he stuck his muzzle, drenched in his own blood into the water for a drink. _'But you're with us now aren't you? And I can't reach it. It will help with the bleeding…'_

Kagome hesitated. Thought it meant doing something horrible, she took a deep breath and bent down low over the bleeding hole and—still not believing what she was doing—stuck out her tongue and started to lick the injury.

She tasted his blood, and it was like tasting something metallic, sort of like licking a copper pot, but warm and deep. She didn't like it one bit. But none-the-less, she kept going until it stopped bleeding and she heard Inuyasha let out a rather feeble sigh.

'_You ok?' _she asked him after she stuck her head in the river to wash the terrible taste from her mouth.

'_It's sore,' _he admitted as he turned to look at the wound. 'But I'll survive.'

Kagome looked up at him from the water and asked him, '_How can you take this? Those humans went and shot you! You could've bled to death! And you're acting like this is nothing!'_ Not that she noticed it until later, but she referred to them as _**'those humans.'**_

Inuyasha shrugged. _'It's no big deal,' _he assured her. _'Believe it or not, this isn't my first injury from a human.'_

Kagome felt her insides freeze as she stared at him.

'_What are you…?' _she asked him.

'_When I was just a pup,' _he said coolly,_ 'I stepped into this metal thing with jaws.'_

Kagome blinked, not having the slightest clue what he was talking about, that it until she remembered her father explaining all about traps. Once something triggered the platform, it would close and trap the animal with razor-sharp spikes and have sometimes been known to take off the whole limb. She shuddered as she looked down at Inuyasha's leg, only to see the faint outline of a few jagged scars that were just noticeable thought his thick fur.

'_I'm sorry,'_ she told him.

He shook his head like it wasn't important and said, _'It's nothing really. I was able to fight my way out of it just before any hunter showed up. They didn't really bother me until I got older and proved to be more than a match for them. They like hunting me… call it a challenge.'_

Kagome shook her head in disgust. _"How can they actually do this and not feel any remorse for it?'_

'_No idea,'_ he answered briskly. _'We've always had hunters after us, but in the last few years things have gotten even worse.'_

'_Worse?'_ she repeated in horror. _'How on earth could they have gotten any worse?'_

Inuyasha sighed. _'Not long ago men started cutting trees and digging holes without planting anything. They just keep coming and are killing off the game. Between that and the tree cutting, they're driving the deer and elk from the woods and if that isn't stopped, the pack will starve soon. We usually eat as much as we can before we head up to Demon's Ridge, but with all the food nearly gone, I think that we're in some serious trouble. And with Ayame about to have her pups…'_

They both looked back to see the pregnant wolf now eating yet another fish Koga had caught for her, and she was gulping it down as if she hadn't eaten for days. Which Kagome reminded herself, there was a chance that she hadn't. _'She needs all the food she can get. We can do well on fish, but once the cold comes we aren't going to be able to catch anything especially when we're up Demon's Ridge.'_

Kagome was suddenly feeling sick to her stomach as she looked at him in the eyes.

'_Is there anything I can do?' _she asked him.

Inuyasha got up and started to trek back to the others. _'I don't know,'_ he answered her. _'For now, we just have to keep moving before the hunters find us. Help me gather up everyone.'_

She nodded unhappily, she didn't want to leave this beautiful place just yet but she also knew that they weren't safe until they got to those cliffs and away from Areno Woods and the hunters. She just hoped that they would be able to rest again soon. And more importantly, she would have time to think about what the hell was happening to her. She was now convinced that this wasn't just some terrible and very long nightmare she was having—but that didn't mean that she didn't wish that it still was.

She was also wishing that she never came on this stupid trip. Why couldn't she just stay home with Kikyo this weekend?

Nonetheless, she forced her tired body to get up and followed Inuyasha, who was still limping, and seemed to be having trouble getting his bearings straight. But he sure made up for it by yelling at them all:

'_Alright!'_ he called to them all. _'Get up! It's time we keep moving.'_

'_But Inuyasha!'_ little Shippo cried, shaking the extra water from his fur as Sango got on the other side of Ayame and struggled to help her to her feet. _'Dad's not back yet!'_

Kagome felt as though someone had smacked her awake. She had completely forgotten about Kitsue. Oh, god what was she supposed to say?

Inuyasha obviously had forgotten about it too because he flinched horribly and his tail suddenly became tense. Shippo didn't notice this as he was trying to catch a sardine-sized fish from the waters. Miroku noticed however as he looked at their pack leader and seemed to whine sadly.

'_Kitsue won't be coming with us will he?'_ he asked him as Kagome put her head down, not knowing if she could stand to watch this.

That got Shippo's attention and he turned to look at them all like we were crazy, his fish now swimming away from him. _'What do you mean?'_ he demanded. _'Of course father's going to come with us! He knows those cliffs better than anyone! We can't leave him here alone!'_

Inuyasha didn't look at him as he addressed Miroku, _'No, he's not. He told me to get everyone else up to Demon's Ridge before the cold comes. We will have to worry what to do when…'_

'_Didn't you hear me?'_ Shippo yelled as he bounded forward and got between them so that Inuyasha couldn't look down without looking straight at him. _'We have to wait for father! Or I can go and get him myself before we go and…!'_

'_You will do no such thing,'_ Sango suddenly barked, understanding what was going on. _'You won't last five minutes on your own out there with this many hunters around! Besides…'_

She looked at Inuyasha, who nodded his head once and she sighed, _'Kitsue won't be able to come with us ever again.'_

Kohaku gasped as Koga groaned and Ayame whimpered. Shippo still didn't understand… or maybe he did but didn't want to admit what he knew was true. _'I don't believe you…'_

Inuyasha sighed, and looked away, unable to say anything. Knowing that she had to do it, Kagome came forward and said, '_Kitsue… Shippo I'm sorry but Kitsue's…' _she gulped and shut her eyes as she said the final word,_ 'Dead.'_

Just like that, the temperature dropped as if the dead of winter suddenly came and froze them all. Kagome opened her eyes to see the broken and confused look on the pup's face. _'No,'_ he said as he backed away from her._ 'No, I don't believe it.'_

'_Shippo,'_ Inuyasha said sternly,_ 'We were both there. Me and Kagome did what we could to save him, but he was shot and…'_

'_So were you!'_ Shippo yelled as he began to toss his head violently around, as if he was trying to wake himself up from a nightmare. _'You were shot and you're fine!'_

'_That's different!'_ Inuyasha barked back. _'Kitsue was a lot older than I am, and I'm only hurt in my side. It's nothing I can't recover from. But Kitsue got shot in the chest so…'_

Shippo let out a howl of rage and denial as he turned and went running off. _'I DON'T BELIEVE YOU!_' he howled back at them.

'_Shippo!'_ Kagome screamed and went running after him. _'Shippo, stop! It's not safe out there!'_

And before anyone could stop her, she went running after the little wolf cub, who was now howling in pain, screaming for his father.

**(Sorry for taking so long, but I've got so many stories to catch up on that it hasn't do been easy to do catch up on. If anyone as any suggestions or requests to what they would like to happen, I'm open to any ideas. Hope you all enjoyed this short chapter. The next one should be a lot longer hopefully.)**


	12. Demon's Ridge

_**Chapter 12: Demon's Ridge**_

**(Everybody loves games—especially when you win. Losing… it's not so hot. But it doesn't really matter who wins and who loses because it's only a game. And you can always play again right? Not always. There are some games that you better win. Cause if you lose, you may never play another game ever again.)**

Kagome hit the ground running as she tore after Shippo; even though she already felt as if she had run enough for a lifetime. The pup's red fur zipping in and out of her sights as he dashed through the bare and grey trees—she hoped that she could catch him before the hunters did.

What a day… first she was turned into a wolf, chased out of the house by her own family, ran enough for several marathons, met a wolf pack, watched Kitsue die—she felt her heart ache at that reminder—and now she was chasing Shippo into certain danger. Really, was it really just this morning when she got out of bed and looked in her mirror to see that she was no longer human?

She shook her head, clearing her thoughts and bringing herself back to the matter at hand. She had to catch Shippo fast before he ran into the hunters again. She could hear the poor cub howling in despair as he screamed out for his father and Kagome felt the need to cry for him. But she also promised Kitsue that she would take care of him…

It was the least she could do to make amends for what her kind had done to him and his family. But before she could do anything else, she heard something that caused her to stop breathing.

More gunfire and Shippo's howl of pain.

Knowing that what she was doing was stupid and could get her killed, she ran faster than she ever done in her life and burst through a clearing to find Shippo cowering against a tree, his tail between his legs, with two hunters standing there, pointing their guns at him.

Not knowing where it came from, Kagome reared back her head and began to give her ghostly howl which caused the hunters to drop their guns in fright and spun around to see her there. Growling protectively, Kagome took a great jump and leapt down between them and Shippo.

With Shippo behind her, she bared her teeth at the two hunters… only to have her jaw drop open when she saw who it was.

Hojo and his father, Nobunaga.

Feeling as though someone was playing some cruel, sick joke, she shook her head and came out of her stunned shock and started growling again. But instead of in a threatening way, it was in a pleaded one… trying to tell them it was her… and to leave.

"Where'd she come from?" Hojo asked his father as he quickly picked up the gun he dropped. "I've never seen her before. A new addition to their pack?"

"Must be," Nobunaga replied steadily. "If I had to guess, she must've come from one of the other packs who live up on Demon's Ridge."

"Great," Hojo groaned. "They're multiplying."

"She's a pretty one though," Nobunaga said as he pointed his retrieved gun at her. "Looks like Quicksilver might've finally found a girl for him. Just what we needed… more pups like him running around."

If Kagome's new face wasn't covered by hair, they would've seen her turn as red as a beet. But she pushed that to the side for now. She had more important things to deal with.

'_Shippo,'_ Kagome hissed to the pup behind her. _'Are you hurt? Did they shoot you?'_

'_N-no,'_ he croaked back as he stood behind her and Kagome felt a sigh of relief leave her. _'They missed. They just scared me.'_

Kagome nodded as she kept her eyes on the hunters—not letting them out of her sight as they were getting their wits together. Luckily for her, the two of them had always been rather slow. _'Good. You had me worried sick, Shippo. Listen, I'm really, really sorry about Kitsue. But running off like that was stupid.'_

'_I know!'_ he barked back in misery._ 'But I already lost mom! I couldn't lose dad too!'_

'_I'm sorry,'_ she said again. _'But how about we talk about this after we escape with our lives?'_ Her former friends now began to inch closer to them, ready to strike if they moved so much as an inch. Kagome briefly wondered why they didn't already shoot—that is until Hojo pulled out a round of new bullets and was quickly loading the guns. This was her only chance…

'_Get lost!'_ Kagome howled at them and they actually stepped back at her howl as if they understood her. But she wished she didn't say anything because Hojo gave a yell of shock and let out a shot of the newly-reloaded gun by accident. Kagome used her new wolf grace to leap out of the way, but just barely. She could feel the bullet rush by her head—could almost feel it burn her as it went whizzing off in the distance behind her.

Suddenly knowing what to do, she spun around, grabbed Shippo by the scruff of his neck like a mother dog would do with her puppies and went running off before her former friends could start shooting again. She could hear the sounds of the guns being let off behind her, but she was already out of their sights by the time they realized what happened.

At that moment, she could see something silver-white running towards her. She stopped for a second to drop Shippo, who seemed to be crying, before she howled, _'Inuyasha!'_

'_Kagome!'_ he howled back as he came near her. _'Shippo! I heard…'_

The sounds of shouting were coming from behind them and all three of them glanced around to look. They couldn't see anything but knew that the hunters were coming. This was what the humans wanted… to them this was just one big game of cat and mouse… a game that the Areno wolves had no chance at winning.

'_This way!'_ Inuyasha yelled and the other two followed him as the sounds of multiple human voices ran out behind them. Kagome kept a close eye on Shippo the whole way as they ran; ready to grab him if he decided to run off once more. But he didn't seem to want to try that again as he ran so close to her that she could feel his side brushing against hers—wanting to stay near her…

'_What about the others?'_ she called to their 'leader,' suddenly remembering the others.

'_I told them to run as soon as you both took off,'_ he yelled back_. 'They must be half-way to Demon's Ridge by now.'_

'_And we'll be safe there right?'_ she asked as they leapt over a fallen tree and under some low-hanging branches.

'_Humans can't get up there,'_ he howled in assurance. _'We've never seen a human there before. And we'll be more than safe from them until the cold is over.'_

'_I hope you're right!'_ she screamed as they reached the river and went running through it without another thought. She could still hear Shippo sniffling a little beside her, and wanted to say something to comfort him. But her adrenaline was pumping so hard and fast that she didn't think she could at that moment.

They kept going until they finally reached the foot of a steep rock-face. Without even pausing for breath, Inuyasha leapt up onto the first boulder with such a graceful arch, that it took Kagome's breath away. Though there wasn't any to spare anyway by the time they both finally reached the stone. Shippo, who was right behind him, had to scrap up the rock with his claws before he was able to pull himself up.

Kagome on the other hand had stopped dead. It looked easy enough for them, but she was still having trouble telling her front legs from the back ones. She looked over her shoulder, knowing that she had nowhere else to go but up. So gritting her teeth together, she put her front paws up onto the rock and pulled herself up. It wasn't as easy as Inuyasha made it look, that was for sure.

She had to struggle to get her back legs, which were already tired to the bone, to kick in the air until she was able to pull herself up. Gasping for breath, she stood on the boulder and looked up to see that Inuyasha was already far ahead of her, and Shippo was still struggling to get up some of the bigger rocks.

Still panting, she put her front paws up on the next rock and just continued up the same way. But she sure wasn't winning any world records for speed; feeling as if her nails were about to be ripped out of her paws, she used all her remaining strength to keep pulling her up and jumping over narrow gabs and ledges.

'_You're slowing us down!'_ she heard Inuyasha howl down at her after a few minutes. She looked up to see him so far above her, she could barely see him.

'_I'm sorry!'_ she screamed up—trying to think up a good excuse. _'But I-I'm so tired! I've been running all day and I'm not used to climbing cliffs!'_

With a disgruntled groan, Inuyasha took a great leap and jumped down, passed a panting Shippo, and down to just a few feet above her.

'_How can you not know how to climb?'_ he asked her exasperated, as if he was speaking to someone dumb.

'_I'm from a flatland,'_ Kagome invented wildly_. 'Aside from a few hills, it's all flat! I've never climbed rocks like this before.'_

'_Well, you sure won't be getting anywhere like that!'_ he snapped back in aggravation. He turned around and showed her. He took one step with his right front foot—pulling himself up, while at the same time using his back right foot to push—almost jump a few feet. Once he did that, his other two legs were there to dig their claws into the rock and keep him from sliding off. He repeated this until he reached stable ground and looked down at her. _'Now you try,'_ he commanded.

Nodding in an uncertain way, Kagome tried to do what Inuyasha did. She moved the right side of her body in a sort of hop and was able to repeat it before she lost her footing. Yes, this was much easier…

In no time at all, she was making up for lost time and was now level with Shippo.

'_Are you ok?'_ she asked him in concern.

He nodded gloomily and sniffled a little bit as if he had a bad cold. _'Y-yeah, I'm fine.' _He stayed quiet for a few seconds until he finally said. _'T-thank y-you. You know… for coming after me like that.'_

Kagome looked at him sadly as she gave him a slight push in the back to help him climb over a particularly big rock.

'_Don't mention it,'_ she said to him._ 'And I understand why you did it. But you know that it was a stupid thing to do when you went running off like that?'_

Kagome was surprised to hear her talk like that—she sounded just like her own mother.

'_I know, I know,'_ Shippo gasped, and she could see that he was as tired as she was and seemed to be having trouble staying awake. 'I just…'

'_It's ok,' _Kagome assured him in a loving way. '_I know how it feels.'_ She thought back to her own family and understood Shippo's urge to run. To escape reality… just to try and get out of her own head even for a moment. If she had known that this would happen, she would've told her family just how much she loved them…

Forcing back tears, she continued to try and comfort the whimpering Shippo. _'I miss my family… my pack too. I miss them so much that it's painful. But I also know that they still love me and would never want me to risk my life because I miss them.'_

Especially, since they were the ones hunting her…

'_But I promised to keep you safe,' _she said softly as she rubbed her head against Shippo's in a consoling way and was surprised that he returned the motion._ 'You have to be strong for your parents,' _she went on._ 'I'm sure that wherever they are now, they still love you and would want you to stay alive.' _

Shippo gazed at her with tear-filled eyes and nodded. _'I'm sorry. I just…'_

'_I know,'_ Kagome said softly as she gave him a gentle nudge. _'But we can talk about this later. Let's get up this mountain first, ok?'_

Shippo took several breaths and nodded as they continued on.

'_Hey!' _Inuyasha's voice called suddenly, startling them both as they looked down to see that he was surveying the area, obviously looking for any signs of hunters before he looked up at them. _'You getting the hang of it?'_

'_Yeah!' _Kagome yelled back. _'I'm fine!'_

'_Good,' _he answered as he climbed after them in a rush of fur and claws. _'If nothing else, you're a fast learner.'_

Kagome wasn't sure if she should take that as a compliment or an insult. So instead, she teasingly bit his tail once he got closer to them. He let out a yelp of pain as he turned to her with a low growl. _'What's the big idea?'_

'_What?'_ she asked innocently as Shippo started laughing, though it sounded a bit forced and high-pitched. _'I thought a big, tough guy like you could handle a little nip like that. I mean, if you can still get up to run after getting shot in the chest…?'_

He gave her a bark of annoyance before he turned and leapt up the peak with the other two close behind him. After about 15 more minutes, they were finally at the top of the rock face—only then did Kagome actually take a look around her at her new… _home_?

**(Finally done with another chapter. This is a really hard story to write for. I hope that you weren't disappointed by this chapter and sorry for making you wait so long. I know that it's not as long as some of the others. But I wanted to get them moving on. Next chapter, Kagome is told the story of the other wolf packs. Hopefully it won't be as hard to write as this one.)**


	13. Three Kingdoms

_**Chapter 13: **__**Three Kingdoms**_

**(When you play a videogame, it doesn't really matter if you win or lose. Because you can just press reset, and you get a new game. You can always get a second chance—or sometimes a fifth or sixth chance if you're really bad. But what if it really ****did**** count? Imagine if you had to beat the game… or lose everything. And there are no resets, continues, or second chances.)**

Shaking her long fur out of her face, Kagome looked around her. Standing on top of the cliff, overlooking the dark trees of the Areno woods, was the top of Demon's Ridge. The first thing she saw was wispy, and dead-looking grasses growing in the cracks and even a few yellowish vines clinging desperately on either side of her. The tall walls, ledges, hangings, and formations made everything look like a giant maze that criss-crossed each other. She looked above her to see the forms of hawks soaring overhead, and the stone that seemed to stretch for miles in all directions. Also above her on tall ledges, were caves in the mountain… perfect for dens she guessed.

It was windy… and a strange, salty taste was in the air. She slanted her eyes in defense of her sight, tasting the sea upon her tongue. A smile spread out about her face, making the corners of her mouth tug upwards.

The wind whipped around her, and she enjoyed the moment, feeling free with the air around her, almost making her weightless. The wind caught on her fur, feeling as if it wanted to lift her up.

She turned behind her to get a better look at the forest… a forest so big that she couldn't see any signs human civilization… except for… Kagome jumped back in fright. Right below them, at the base of the cliff, there was a large group of human men down there, carrying guns, nets, and other assorted weapons and were looking around. Kagome's eyes travelled across them all—though it was hard to tell—she didn't see any signs of her father, Hojo, or Nobunaga with them—which brought some comfort to her.

'_Get back,'_ Inuyasha said and she yelped in pain when he grabbed her by the tail and pulled her backwards, away from the edge. _'There's always a chance they could fire up at us.'_

'_Sorry,'_ she muttered, but still peeved about him tugging her tail, as she turned back to him and Shippo_. 'What a day. I guess it's too much to hope that it's all just a dream?'_ it was her last chance…

'_I wish,'_ he answered gloomily with one last disgusted look at the edge of the cliff. _'Come on. It's always best if we move away from here. There are a few dens there that should hold us until the humans go away.'_

Though he hid it well, Kagome could hear the tone of anger in his voice. And it wasn't hard to tell that he was furious about being forced out of his home by strangers. Not that she blamed him. If she was forced to run from her home every year because of a group of intruders were trying to kill her and her family, she would hate them to. Suddenly remembering Shippo, she turned to the little pup, who was lying down on his belly next to her with his tongue lolling out his mouth.

'_Shippo?'_ she asked softly.

He didn't seem to be in the mood to talk however. He was looking so depressed that it just broke her heart.

'_Get up!'_ Inuyasha snapped at him. _'We have to keep going. We don't want to meet anyone else here.'_

Shippo didn't even give him a second glance, he seemed close to falling asleep. All that running couldn't have been easy on the little guy. _'Hey, pup,'_ Inuyasha barked, stepping on Shippo's tail. That got a response. Shippo let out a howl of pain and leapt back up.

'_HEY!'_ he yelled at Inuyasha—who tried to bite him with his large jaws in retaliation. Shippo looked up and started to whimper.

'_Don't yell at him! He's just a pup!' _Kagome yelled at him, standing between Shipp and Inuyasha, confronted the other wolf snarling.

'_A pup!'_ Inuyasha snapped at her. _'He almost got you both killed back there! What were you thinking running off like that?'_

'_I-I w-w-was ju-just trying t-to find fa-fa-father!'_ Shippo whimpered.

'_Oh, did you?'_ Inuyasha asked sharply. _'I already told you what happened to him didn't I?'_

'_Knock it off!'_ Kagome yelled at him, barring her teeth. _'What happened, happened alright? Just leave him alone! He's been through enough without you shouting at him.'_

He glared at her for a moment, before deciding that it wasn't worth the effort anymore.

'_Hey, where do you think you're go…?'_ but before Kagome could finish her question, he already took off. Shippo grunted as he tried to get back onto his feet, on the verge of crying, but seemed so tired that he seemed unsteady on his feet. Kagome looked from Shippo the Inuyasha's departing back and knew what to do. She bent down, hoping that she wouldn't hurt him, Kagome picked up Shippo by the scruff of his neck for the second time.

He let out a small yap of surprise, but Kagome used what was left of her strength to pick up the small cub.

'_Can you still hear me?'_ she asked him as she began to follow Inuyasha, Shippo still in her jaws. _'I'm not hurting you am I?'_

'_No,'_ he answered, putting up his little paws and allowed Kagome to carry him without complaint. _'I'm too tired to walk anyway.'_

'_Well, we'll be able to nap soon,'_ she promised as she kept up with Inuyasha—thankfully he was just walking—not running. _'I'm sorry about that,' _she told him.

'_That Inuyasha's a real jerk,'_ Shippo grunted.

'_He didn't mean it,'_ she answered. '_At least I hope not. He must've been really worried when we took off like that. Try not to think too much about it. Just give him some space until his hot head cools down.' _Kagome looked back up at the towering boulders, the many twists and turns that they were taking between the maze-like passageways. _'So we should be safe here?'_ she asked him.

'_From humans anyway,'_ Shippo whimpered_. 'They never come here. But they're not the most dangerous things that live up here.'_

At those words, Kagome almost dropped him as she stopped dead. _'What?'_ she repeated slightly panicky.

'_There are two other wolf packs up here,'_ he answered with a sigh. _'That's why it's difficult to get food around here. With those other two packs, you can imagine how tough it is to share.'_

'_I can imagine,'_ Kagome said as they passed some strange shaped boulders, Inuyasha looking back at them irritated for taking so long. _'We can all talk later,'_ she told him as she glanced towards the low sun. It'd be dark soon—more than anything, Kagome wanted to go to sleep and wake up in her bed at home—not even at the cabin. She wanted to be home in her room, safe in bed… but nooooooo… she was out in the middle of nowhere… with her own father trying to kill her! Great day she was having!

She held back a sob as she treaded carefully on some lose ground, the rocks cutting into her already tender paws. This was definitely up there with one of the 10 worst days of her life.

It was about 10 minutes later, and with her feeling as though her jaw was going to fall out, they finally reached a particularly deep-looking cave. Completely exhausted, she gently put Shippo down, who stumbled on his four feet as the three of them entered. It was a short, narrow passage that opened up to a large room—about the size of your average living room—with a few stalactites hanging from the ceiling and the floor covered with dead leaves.

The first thing she saw was Koga and Ayame; Ayame gasping for air as she curled up against the back wall and on top of a thick pile of leaves. Koga was with her as she licked her aching paws—gently nudging her large stomach. Sango was then next thing she saw—and she saw her.

Her new friend got up and greeted them all while Kohaku came forward to greet Shippo. Kagome sniffed her fur as Sango did the same with her and said, _'Are you ok?'_

'_I've been better,'_ Kagome gasped as she finally collapsed on a large pile of leaves, her limps feeling as if they were just shot with a few gallons of Novocain; too tired to move.

Inuyasha looked around at them all before he said,_ 'I'll be back in a second. Need to make sure that no one's watching us.'_

Kagome looked up, about to ask him what he was talking about—but he already left before she could say anything. Confused, she turned back to Sango and asked, _'Why would we be followed?'_

'_I keep forgetting you're not from around here,'_ Miroku said, causing her to jump. She hadn't even seen him there.

'_But first things first,'_ he said as he came out from a shadowy corner and over to sit next to her. _'My name is Miroku… or as the humans call me… Darkfog.'_ He laughed at that as Kagome glanced over his dark-blue fur before he became serious and said, _'And if you don't mind me asking, I was wondering if you would be willing to bear my pups?'_

Kagome let out a loud screech—causing Ayame and Koga to look over at them with disapproval on their faces. But at the moment, she didn't care. There was no freaking way that she would ever…

'_It's alright, Kagome!'_ Sango called quickly over her racket_. 'It doesn't mean anything! He goes around asking that of every female wolf he sees. Which isn't that many.'_

'_Not very choosy are you?'_ Kagome snapped at him, still embarrassed and angry, as he laughed again.

'_It's hard to get a mate here,'_ he told her before turning to Sango. _'Of course, you know that I've always had very special feelings for you my dear…'_

'_Don't you dear me,'_ she told him, her tail wagging wildly, making sure that it slapped his face. _'The only 'dear' I'll take is the kind you hunt and bring home.'_

She then turned back to Kagome_. 'Make it easy for yourself and just ignore him. That's what I do. Anyway, now that we can finally relax, why don't you tell us a bit about yourself?'_

Kagome had been afraid of that. What was she supposed to say now? Before, they were more concerned about staying alive than questioning her. But now that they didn't have to worry about being killed, they were going to ask some questions that weren't going to be easy to explain. Well, she took a shot at it.

'_Well, my name is Kagome… and I come from a pack that's… far away,'_ she began. _'I came here because I heard that there were some other wolves here, and I—I guess that I wanted to find someone who could help me.'_

'_Why were you kicked out?'_ Koga finally said once he was sure that Ayame was comfortable and has fallen asleep. _'Of your old pack I mean?'_

'_I… rather not say,'_ Kagome told them softly. _'Only just that me and my family… ah… didn't have… well, let's just say that we had some disagreements.'_

That was the best she could do. Luckily, just at the moment, Shippo had crawled over to her had rested his head against her. _'Sorry,'_ he croaked. _'I didn't mean to run off like that. I just…' _he trailed off.

Kagome turned to look over at him and—not knowing why—she nudged her head against his in a loving way. (It was worse than she thought… the longer she was a wolf, the more she started acting like one.)

Shippo also looked surprised, but it was for a different reason, _'That's what my mom used to do,' _he squeaked as he lied down next to her and curled up against her side. Kagome looked at him startled, but before she could say anything, he already fell asleep.

'_He must like you,'_ Sango said, her voice gentle as she looked at the pair of them. _'He hasn't been that close to someone other than his parents. After his mother died… he wasn't the same.'_

Kagome felt her heart go out to the boy again and wrapped her tail around him, to help keep him warm before she turned back to Sango and asked,_ 'Ok, why does Inuyasha think we're being watched? Shippo said something about… other packs…?'_

'_Oh, that's right, you don't know,'_ she answered as she stretched out. _'Yes, there are a total of three wolf packs who live in these parts. But I'm not sure how much I'll be able to tell you.'_

'_Why's that?'_ she asked confused.

'_We live by our rules,'_ Miroku explained. _'We make no acceptations. That's how we've stayed alive since now. So… if you wish to stay with us… then you must become one of us.'_

'_I don't get it,'_ Kagome said slowly, but having a bad feeling of what he meant.

'_To stay here,'_ Miroku said seriously as he laid his head down on his front paws_. 'You must become one of us. In other words, join our pack and help us take care of each other. Any lone wolf in these parts doesn't stand a chance on their own. These are the rules of our territory.'_

'_And our territory is no different from the other two that are here,'_ Sango finished for him sadly as she rolled over onto her back, her eyes never leaving Kagome.

'_So there are three of them?'_ Kagome asked, taking in everything they were saying.

'_Humans think we're dumb,'_ Miroku said with a roll of his eyes. _'That we're savage monsters; that we're just wild that will turn on each other in a heartbeat. This is far from true. We are wild, yes, but the chaos reigned here has helped put everything into its natural place. But things have changed drastically in the last couple years.'_

'_What's happened?' _Kagome asked worriedly, looking from Miroku to Sango. '_Is it the humans or…?'_

'_Oh, they're part of the problem,' _Miroku informed her._ 'But we've learned to deal with them every year. At the moment we have bigger problems than them.'_

'_You see, for awhile now,'_ Sango continued, _'There has been a struggle between three wolves that have been shaking our world to its foundation.'_

'_Just three?'_ Kagome asked in surprise. _'That should've ended already. I mean, if you guys are fighting over territory then…'_

'_You're right,'_ Miroku agreed sullenly_. 'It should've ended long ago. Unfortunately, it's more complicated than that. The problem is that these three battling wolves are the three pack leaders, fighting over things like food and dens. Their hatred for each other runs very deep for several reasons. But the one issue that is bringing out all this trouble is the same one that we're so cautious here… fighting over control of the woods and cliffs.'_

'_It has always been this way,' _Sango sighed. _'Three wolves in constant disagreement with each other. And since the strength that all three of these wolves have is equal… the balance among them is barely stable. The problem is that if two of them fought and only one emerged alive, the third would be waiting in the wings and ready to strike. So the three of them have continued to push in a stand-off that, at this point, has lasted for years.'_

'_You think that they would get tired of this and go crazy… or at least try to make peace,'_ Kagome muttered.

'_Because these three are too stubborn for that,' _Sango laughed. _'But that's not the point. There are three packs. We have the second largest. The first wolf pack belongs to a strong wolf named Sesshomaru. Even though there are only two other wolves with him, he's more than strong enough to fight with the others.'_

'_He may not act like it,'_ Miroku said seriously, _'But he's very protective of the two wolves with him. One's his mate, Rin, and the other is his kinda servant called Jaken.'_

'_But there's only three of them?'_ Kagome repeated.

'_Their group is small, but Sesshomaru is strong and dangerous,'_ Sango explained._ 'And they won't be small for too much longer. I've heard that Ayame's not the only one with pups on the way. Apparently, Rin's going to be having a large litter soon as well.'_

'_Pretty soon,'_ Miroku went on,_ 'Their small pack may not be so small for much longer. And to top it all off, Sesshomaru is Inuyasha's brother.'_

'_Brother?'_ Kagome gasped. _'Then why are they…?'_

'_Oh, the two of them never got along,'_ Miroku told her. _'They've been at each other's throats since they were cubs. Not that it matters. Sesshomaru normally leaves us alone. It's the third wolf pack that's the problem.'_

'_Why?' _Kagome inquired._ 'What's wrong with them?'_

'_Everything that's why,' _he snarled. _'The leader of the pack is a hound called Naraku. He's definitely got the largest pack. Including him, there's got to be at least… ten wolves there.'_

'_Ten?'_ Kagome gasped again.

'_Yeah,'_ Sango growled as Kohaku curled up into a ball next to them and instantly went to sleep. _'And they're the main reason why there's hardly any food up here. In one hunt, they kill enough meat that could feed our little pack for a long time. But now that food up here is growing scarcer, they started coming after us and our food. We rule the forest below us, they rule the cliffs, and Sesshomaru rules a valley on the other side of the mountain. We usually try to ignore each other… but with the humans swarming, the cold coming, and the shortage of food—things are getting violent.'_

Kagome shook her head._ 'I had no idea that things were this bad.'_

'_And they keep getting worse,'_ Miroku explained. _'But maybe with you here, we might be able to gang_ _a bit of an_ _edge over them.'_

'_What me?'_ Kagome demanded. _'I can't fight! I can't even hunt or…!'_

'_You can't hunt?'_ Sango demanded in astonishment. _'You're full-grown! Yet you don't know how to hunt with a pack?'_

Realizing her mistake Kagome went on, _'I never had to before. My parents always brought home the food… and up till now I—foraged. I found dead… squirrels… and mice…'_

She knew that it was a lame excuse, but what else could she say?

'_That's a pathetic meal,'_ Miroku said suspiciously.

Kagome put her head low and said, _'I'm sorry. I guess I lead a sheltered lifestyle. I can't help it. But I do promise to help you all any way that I can.'_

They both gave her long looks. Sango looked at Miroku who was staring at Kagome's eyes. He then shrugged and said, _'Ok, by me.'_

Kagome let out a sigh of relief that she didn't know that she had been holding.

'_I'll show you how to hunt later,' _Sango said as she lowered her head onto her paws and her eyes glazed over_. 'In the meantime, we can take it easy. We should be safe here.'_

'_But Inuyasha hasn't come back,' _Kagome said worriedly. She glanced over at the cave entrance, as if hoping that he would appear.

'_I wouldn't worry too much about it,' _Sango reassured her as she bumped her brother's head._ 'He can take care of himself. He often runs around at night to make sure that we're safe. He may not act like it, but he's got a kind side to him… not that he ever admits it.'_

'_If there was any kind of trouble around, he'd let us know,'_ Miroku yawned widely. _'I'm sure that he'll be the first thing we see when we wake up. Not sure if that's a good thing.'_

Kagome laughed lightly as Shippo sniffled in his sleep and cuddled closer to her side. Kagome glanced around at them all. Ayame looking peaceful, with Koga still sitting right next to her—snoring loudly…

Kagome then shook her head, _'Lucky,'_ she said to herself. To be so deeply in love like that… she hoped to be that lucky someday. She then looked over Sango and Kohaku—sleeping peacefully—glancing wearily at Miroku, who had a perverted grin in his sleep, before finally looking back at Shippo.

She promised Kitsue that she would look after his son for him. But how was she supposed to do that? How could she take care of a wolf cub when she wasn't a wolf? Or at least, she wasn't one till this morning. Was it really just this morning? It felt like a lifetime.

She had never felt this scared and lonely. She didn't want to die… she was lost and wondering with no place left to go, in a world that she wasn't a part of.

Just at that moment, she felt a thrill of panic as the shadows of something large wash over her. She looked up scared, before seeing that it was only Inuyasha returning. Inuyasha's silver coat was shining in the fading light as he calmly came in—and Kagome had to admit that he was good-looking… for a canine that is.

'_Are you ok?'_ she asked softly as he entered the cave, panting heavily.

'_I'm fine,'_ he told her as he walked a few feet away and laid down on a patch of rock without leaves and curled up. _'I looked around… I didn't see anyone else. I think we're safe for now. We should be here for the rest of the cold.'_

Kagome nodded as she looked away.

'_What's with you?'_ Inuyasha asked.

'_I dunno,'_ she told him. _'I guess that I'm just missing my mom and dad… even my brother.'_ She looked back at Inuyasha and stared at him long and hard. She found it difficult to believe that he was one of the three pack leaders fighting for control over this area… almost like how kings would fight over land for their people. She could only hope that she didn't pick the wrong side.

'_Get some sleep,'_ he ordered as he laid his head down. _'It's gonna be a long day tomorrow.'_

Kagome nodded as she looked back to the sleeping pup, next to her.

She suddenly felt more nervous, she didn't even know these wolves, and with supposedly two other packs just outside the cave, freaked her out the most. But looking at the little cub she couldn't help but feel a bit of motherly instincts kicking in… wanting to protect this little one from that fighting. She then noticed that he whimpered slightly in his sleep and croaked out the word, _'Mother…?'_

Kagome felt like someone kicked her heard in the chest—after all her family had helped to make this innocent pup an orphan. She lowered her snout and bumped his gently. _'Not by a long shot, cub… I'm sorry.'_

She bit back her own feelings of pain, when she remembered a lullaby that her mother used to sing to her that seemed pretty appropriate to the current situation. Sighing, Kagome gently began to sing to the little pup:

_Here we go again,_

_All the odds against us, another find mess._

_Laughing in the face of danger, what else can we do?_

_It's kinda crazy the stuff that life will throw at you._

_But wherever we are, whatever may come,_

_No matter how hard it we will have won._

_Because we will stand here and watch over you,_

_In this world you've got to beware,_

_It's a jungle out there._

_It's a jungle out there._

_Wherever we are, we'll find our way home,_

_Whatever may happen, we're never alone._

_It's a jungle out there._

She felt herself starting to nod off as well and closed her eyes, hoping that tomorrow would be better. Little did she know, a pair of golden eyes had been watching her very carefully for most of the night—until sheer exhaustion had come over him as well, and Inuyasha had finally gone off to sleep.

**(Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and sorry for taking so long… again. I've been working on other stories and I'm afraid the inspiration is short on this one. But I hope that this one will keep you all satisfied for awhile.)**


	14. Gruesome Meal

_**Chapter 14: Gruesome Meal**_

**(There's one thing that everyone does and that's eat. Most love to eat, and others only eat because they have to. Others will eat anything as long as there's plenty of it; some think eating is the most important thing there is. But it's not because they eat a **_**lot**_**, it's because they're very picky about what they do eat. For them, they love a certain kind of food so much that they'll do anything to get it—anything. And if someone gets in their way well…)**

Inuyasha opened his tired eyes and sunlight was shinning in through the small cave. He yawned widely as he stretched out his sore and aching muscles. He got up to his feet and looked around at his pack to see that everyone was still asleep. Ayame was curled up right up next to Koga's side—who was snoring loudly.

Kohaku was sleeping between Sango and Miroku—obviously keeping a close watch on Miroku and making sure that he stayed away from his sister. While he may be a gentle pup, he was still very protective of his sister.

Inuyasha smirked at that as his eyes fell on the last pair. Shippo was curled up tightly against Kagome's side and was snoring. He cautiously approached the newest member of their pack so that he could smell her scent again. She had a warm and floral smell—like tree blossoms at the beginning of spring, just after a rainfall. He never found such a wonderful scent… but it brought up several questions.

Where did she come from? He'd never seen her before, and he knew for a fact that she didn't come from either his brother's or Naraku's pack… so where did she come from? She said that she had come from far away… there was something strange about that. But the way she moved… it was like she was a pup still trying to get the hang of walking. She didn't know how to climb those rocks—and unless she did something terrible, he couldn't think of a reason why her old pack would want to kick out such a strong and young female. Unless there were already a lot of females…?

He heard another yawn and he backed away just in time to see Miroku stretching and slowly getting painstakingly to his feet. He obviously was as tired and sore from all that running as he was. Of all the times for Ayame to be having pups…

Miroku looked up at him and seemed to smile as he walked over.

'_Inuyasha,'_ he said to him and, like always, sounded like he was in good spirits._ 'What's for breakfast?'_

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. _'Why do you always ask me that? Whatever we can catch, is what we'll be having for breakfast,'_ he said annoyed.

'_Doesn't hurt to ask oh fearless leader,'_ Miroku grinned as he looked down at the sleeping Kagome and turned back to Inuyasha.

'_So…?'_ he said to him quietly, so that they wouldn't wake the others. _'What do we do with her?'_

Inuyasha had a pretty good idea to what 'her' Miroku was talking about.

'_Don't know,'_ he answered truthfully. _'I mean… it's not like she has anywhere else to go. And she has been helping us even though she doesn't know us…'_

'_Yeah,'_ Miroku nodded. _'And I can't deny that we could always use more females around here…'_

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. _'Is finding a mate all you ever think about?'_ he demanded.

'_You wound me, Inuyasha,'_ Miroku smirked at him. _'I already found my future mate.'_ He turned his head longingly to the sleeping Sango. _'Now all I have to do is convince her to bear my pups…'_

Inuyasha felt the need to gag. _'She's said no to you a million times already,' _he reminded him_. 'What is it going to take for you to see that she's just not that interested in you?'_

'_So winning her heart is taking longer than I thought it would,' _Miroku said. _'You mark my words. She will be having my babies someday. I just have to…'_

He shut up instantly.

'_What were you saying, lecher?'_ Inuyasha asked annoyed. But Miroku just shook his head.

'_We better talk later,'_ Miroku whispered quickly, _'Everyone's waking up now.'_ He pointed his snout at the others and Inuyasha turned to see them all opening their eyes and yawning.

As for Kagome, she had hoped that when she woke up, she'd be a human again. That it was all over with—and that she could go home to a safe and warm bed that was waiting for her. But no… she still had fur and four legs. She sighed in disappointment before she raised her head. She looked up to see that everyone else was also getting up.

She was about to say good morning when Sango groaned and rolled herself from her sleep. _'Oh good, everyone's awake,' _she said brightly as she walked past the boys and right up to Kagome and said, _'Come on, today we need to go out and find some food.'_

Kagome nodded at her and clumsily got to her feet as Shippo sleepily rolled away. She supposed that it was going to take a lot longer than one day to get used to more than two legs. She looked at Inuyasha then back at Sango who was walking away, towards the woods, she followed. Inuyasha stood there and watched her go; he didn't move until Miroku asked,_ 'Inuyasha?'_

'_Huh?' _Inuyasha replied confused.

'_What's with you?'_ Miroku asked him.

'_Nothing. Come on, let's go and help the girls. I'm so hungry I could eat a moose,' _said Inuyasha turning and walking back into the cave with Miroku not far behind.

'_A moose?' _Miroku repeated longingly._ 'Oh, I'd kill for a moose… which we would have to.'_

***Outside***

The four of them wandered around the high cliffs, sounded by tall, white stone on either side of them—it felt like being trapped in a canyon instead of being up on a cliff. Kagome's stomach was roaring in hunger… it was then she realized that she hadn't eaten anything since dinner the other night with her family—and even then she just picked at her plate. What she wouldn't give for some of her mother's homemade food.

'_I'm starving!' _Miroku whined as he put his nose to the ground and took a few good whiffs. _'Oh, good!' _he cried out, suddenly brightening up._ 'There's a bunch of mountain goats not too far off!'_

Kagome made a start and realized that what she feared was true. When she thought that she would kill for a steak… looks like she's gonna get her wish.

'_Wait,' _she said and they looked up at her in puzzlement. _'We have to k-kill a goat?' _she asked him in a whimper.

'_Hunt,' _Inuyasha corrected. _'And of course. How else do you expect us to eat?'_

Kagome felt sick to her stomach.

'_What's wrong, Kagome?' _Sango asked in confusion.

'_Nothing…' _she told them all quickly. _'It's just… after what happened yesterday…' _she trailed off for a moment. She remembered the hateful look in the hunters faces and how savage they looked. Was that how they would look to their—prey? She felt no different than the monsters that attacked them before.

'_What is it?' _Inuyasha asked annoyed. _'Don't you want to eat? If you don't want to hunt, then go back to the cave.'_

Kagome started getting angry. _'Of course I'm hungry!' _she barked at him. _'I haven't eaten anything since the day before yesterday! But…'_

'_But what?' _Miroku asked confused.

Kagome took a deep breath and asked softly, _'How is us hunting other animals different than how the hunters came after us?' _

'_That's different,' _Sango said as if it was obvious. _'We don't kill for sport… we hunt to survive. It's not like we can live on plants like a deer can. Besides don't you remember we only go after the weak ones?'_

'_What?' _Kagome asked bewildered. The other three stared at her as if she suddenly grew another head.

'_You mean you've never hunt before?'_ Miroku asked in astonishment. _'Kohaku's barely older than a pup but he's already starting to go out on hunts with us. You're pretty much full grown and you've never hunted before?'_

Kagome suddenly realized her mistake. _'I told you…'_ she gasped quickly. _'I lived a very sheltered life.'_

'_A little __**too**__ sheltered,'_ Inuyasha said as he turned to her suspiciously. _'Even if your old pack never let you hunt before, you would have some idea. Just where are you from?'_

Kagome shivered, wondering what she was going to do. Finally, she decided on the truth… or at least not a complete lie. _'You really want to know?'_ she asked softly. _'I was raised in… in captivity!'_

'_Captivity?'_ they all demanded in bewilderment.

'_You mean…?'_ Miroku asked slowly, _'You were raised by humans?'_

'_It's a long story,'_ she said softly. _'But you see, not all humans are bad. At least… not all of them go after wolves. Most humans think it's barbaric! I was still just a baby—a pup when I was brought in to be raised in a human environment.'_

'_You mean you were a pet?' _Inuyasha demanded in outrage.

'_They were very kind to me,' _Kagome said quickly, she was on a roll. _'But…'_

'_You ran away?' _Sango gasped quietly. _'That takes a lot of courage.'_

'_Not really,' _Kagome sighed_. 'Some… hunters found out about me and thought I was a monster. They were hanging around our house and I was worried for my human family. I overheard some of the hunters talk about the Areno wolf pack—and how it was led by a wolf named Quicksilver.' _She smiled up at Inuyasha who let out a bark of amusement.

'_And so… I left,' _Kagome finished lamely. _'I've never been hunting before because my human family took care of me. What I told you before about my ordinal pack was a lie… or at least, parts of a lie. I don't like lying to you guys… but I was worried if you found out about how I was raised, then you wouldn't accept me. And I can't help but feel… I feel like we look how those hunters must've looked when they came after us.'_

For a moment, no one said anything. Kagome could only stand there with her head down, hoping that they wouldn't turn her away because she was part of the human world. She waited, too scared to look up… and then…

'_I'm sorry,' _Sango's voice said. She slowly stepped forward and rubbed her furry head against hers. Kagome felt the need to cry as she breathed in Sango's comforting scent. She shut her eyes… trying hard not to feel sick with herself. She hated lying to them… but what else could she do?

Sango pulled away. _'That explains a lot,'_ she told her. _'How you knew so much about humans. So you think that you're a monster too?'_

Kagome nodded dully. _'I just don't know anymore. I mean… how are we any different from the ones who tried to kill us yesterday?'_

'_There is a big difference,'_ Miroku told her firmly.

'_Let us show you…'_ Sango said and she led her away. _'I'll show you the basics… and the boys will be looking for those goats. Come on.'_

Kagome hesitated for a moment, and slowly began to follow her, leaving the boys behind them.

'_Ok. This is the perfect spot to train you,' _said Sango after a few minutes of walking. They were in a huge clearing that was surrounded by tall walls on all sides—with the only way out a sliver of an opening where they walked in. _'First thing that I'm going to teach you is to run fast and gracefully,' _said Sango turning back to face her.

'_This is going to take awhile isn't it? And by graceful you mean running and not making any noise right?' _Kagome asked her with a shake of the head.

'_Yes, oh and if you're a fast learner, then I don't think it'll take that long. You just have to practice and soon you'll be as fast as any of us,'_ said Sango confidently. _'I'll be showing you the basis while the boys do the hard stuff. Now, first you crouch down so you're on your hunches then you place one paw in front of the rest and you push off of you hind legs and run!' _said Sango demonstrating, she ran the length of the clearing in about 3-5 seconds.

Sango came back with hardly a pant; _'Now it's your turn. Do just as I did.' _

Kagome nodded and repeated the steps in her mind. She crouched down and placed one paw in front of the rest, and then she pushed off of her hind legs and ran across the clearing in about 10 seconds.

'_Not bad, you're pretty fast for a house-pet. Nice job! The only thing I'd say is that you were a little too noisy but don't worry I'll teach you how to stay quiet. Just keep practicing and you'll be faster than me,' _said Sango pleased with how quickly she learned.

Sango told her to barely touch the ground when she's running and she'll make less noise. But on Kagome's first try she stumbled over her own feet and fell. Sango kept on demonstrating—and Kagome couldn't help but feel as if Sango was showing off.

After a couple hours she was finally getting the hang of it, but she noticed that she was still a bit noisier then Sango. _'Nice job! Much better than before,' _said Sango leading the way back to where they last left the boys. Kagome nodded and slowly walked behind her for her legs and paws hurt.

They walked through the maze-like cliff faces… the sun was already high. Kagome was just wondering how long it had been when Sango let out a howl—letting the boys know that they were done and that they should get their butts back here. Kagome snorted as Inuyasha and Miroku suddenly appeared far ahead of them and were sprinting back to where they stood. _'It's about time ladies. So Sango tell me how it went,'_ Miroku asked as he neared them.

Sango answered, _'Not bad, in fact she's really good. A little more practice and she'll be as good as me, maybe even faster.' _

Kagome smiled at that, but it didn't last long when Miroku said, _'We finally tracked down the little herd of goat. They're over here!'_

'_But…'_ Kagome began but they already took off without her.

Hoping that she wasn't going to regret it, she followed them. But her mind was still spinning. No matter how many times she tried to wrap her mind around it, she just couldn't understand just how was what they were doing any different than what those hunters were trying yesterday? She was starving… she couldn't deny that… but could she truly kill and eat another living creature like this?

***10 minutes later***

Good news is… they found the goats. Bad news is… they found the goats. Kagome felt her guilt rise at the sight of the little baby ones prancing around the rocks… making little bahhing sounds… oh why did she have to turn into a wolf? Why not a deer or bird? Why do wolves have to be carnivores?

'_What luck?' _Inuyasha asked excitedly. _'I didn't think we'd find any decent food so soon. Normally we go hungry for a couple days before we find even a rabbit.'_

'_Don't complain,'_ Miroku grinned. _'I haven't eaten anything since those squirrels yesterday and I am looking forward to a full belly.'_

'_Don't eat the whole thing!' _Sango scolded. _'We still have to bring it back to the others. They're probably wondering where we are… and Ayame's has to eat for her and her pups!'_

'_Great,' _Inuyasha grunted. _'More mouths to feed.'_

Sango looked back at Kagome and saw how sick she was looking.

'_We don't kill unless we have to,' _she explained to her. _'We are not monsters who hunt for sport. We hunt for food and only enough to get us through the day. But with such a large pack, it's sometimes hard to get enough food for everyone. Ayame and the pups have been taken most of it.'_

'_Keh,' _Inuyasha grunted again. _'We do all the hard work and they get all the good food.'_

'_Inuyasha!' _Sango snapped at him before she turned back to Kagome. _'Ignore him. Anyway we're very picky about our prey as well. For example, we are only going for that big one over there.' _

Kagome looked to where Sango was looking and saw a very old looking goat staggering off some of the larger boulders—it looked as if it was having trouble moving. Kagome gulped. _'We're going to kill him?'_

'_Smell him,' _Sango commanded. _'He smells different from the rest of his herd.'_

Kagome blinked several times before she looked back at the old goat. She took a deep breath and suddenly she could smell it. The scent of sickness… like she had stepped into someone's room when they had the flu.

This old goat was sick, real sick. Was that it? Did wolves really only go after the sick or weak ones?

'_Think of it as putting that goat out of his misery,' _Inuyasha said, but it didn't help when he licked his chops. _'He doesn't have much time left. This sickness is common in for a large herd. If he lives for too long, then he could pass the sickness to others. Think of it as a service to all.'_

'_Stay here and watch,' _Sango commanded. And before Kagome could say or do anything else, before she could even blink, Inuyasha charged. The other two close behind…

Inuyasha had bolted straight for the old goat. The younger—smaller ones scattered and ran away. But they had nothing to fear because they weren't the target. Kagome couldn't move… she had never seen anything like this. She watched in horror and amazement as Miroku and Sango darted around, surrounded the poor creature. This was perfect teamwork, all of them working like a well oiled machine—knowing exactly what each other was going to do.

It tried to move, but Inuyasha was quicker. He leapt forward and grabbed the goat by its throat—and with one quick snap, broke it. The goat became limp… then it remained still.

Kagome had never seen anything so terrifying… and exhilarating. The three of them reared their heads back and began to howl… a victory… tonight they would eat.

Sango walked back to her as the boys began the challenge of dragging the goat back to the cave. She looked behind them before turning back to Kagome. _'It's harsh yes… but if we don't hunt, we go hungry and die. We make it quick. So that they are spared any pain—they don't even feel it. Unlike those weapons the humans use. Will you be ok?'_

Kagome wasn't so sure. But nodded. She wasn't sure what was right or wrong anymore. But she needed food… she would do whatever it took to survive.

***The cave***

When they arrived back at the cave, Shippo came running out to meet them.

'_HEY!'_ he howled happily as he bounced around them. _'You finally came back! 'bout time! I'm hungry! Did you get anything good? What did you find?'_

Kagome could only laugh as she lowered her head and nuzzled her nose against him. He laughed until he saw Inuyasha and Miroku dragging the dead animal—you could see the drool coming from his jaws. They dragged the goat into the cave where Ayame, Kohaku, and Koga were waiting.

After much arguing, Kagome discovered how the order went. Ayame would eat first because she was pregnant, the pups will go next, and then the ones who caught the goat which would be Sango, Miroku, and Inuyasha. Koga and Kagome were to go last. Miroku offered for her to eat with them but Kagome shook her head. She didn't help catch it, and she was trying to wait as long as possible before she would be forced to do something that looked so gruesome.

Kagome sat back and watched, slightly nauseated, as they all dug in like—like a pack of wolves. She shook her head at the saying… looks like she now knew where it came from. She watched as they all dug into the carcass and bloodied their muzzles.

Once everyone else had their fair share, there wasn't much meat left on the bone, **(so to speak)** but Kagome could tell that there was still enough for them. Koga jumped up and immediately dug in, but Kagome hesitated.

'_Well then, come on and try some, it's really good,'_ said Sango nudging her in the back, licking her own mouth clean.

Koga sat down and bit into it and ate more and more, Kagome stepped cautiously next to him and sniffed it. It smelt better than she thought it would be but she was still nervous. _'Come on, try some it's really good,'_ Koga told her as he ripped part of the leg off.

Miroku also spoke up, _'You'll like it, and besides this doesn't come around very often. Wolves only hunt what we can catch… not all the time. So just try some.' _

Kagome looked at him and smiled. And at last, she bent down and took a small bite off one of the back legs. It tasted sweet and sour and bloody… nothing like mom's wonderful home cooking… but nonetheless it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. Inuyasha, Miroku and Sango waited for her to answer. She swallowed and looked at them and smiled, _'Not bad!'_

'_See we told you!'_ said Sango happily as she lay down and seemed ready for a nap. For the first time in days, Kagome felt full. She continued eating with Koga until all that was left was the hair and bone. As she lay down and began to wipe the blood off her mouth, Koga actually dragged what was left of the hair from their meal and over to where Ayame rested… to help make it more comfortable for her no doubt.

Kagome still felt bad for that something had to die for them to eat, but she knew that it had been her only choice. She stretched out and allowed Shippo to climb over her as he played. Kagome could still see the sadness in his eyes and knew that he was missing his father—but was trying hard to be strong for the rest of them as well.

Kagome smiled at him and gently began to play with him as they all talked and laughed. All too soon, the sun began to go down and Kagome took the same place where she slept the night before. Shippo curled up right next to her—Kagome was getting attached to this little pup and she wrapped her tail around him to keep him warm.

It scared her slightly… how easily she was getting used to the life of a wolf. She lay awake for a long time, with Shippo snoring, trying to think of what was going to happen to her. She couldn't stay here forever could she? She wanted her parents… and her brother. Her old room and even her school… she would have to do something. She had been missing for more than a whole day—everyone must be so worried. Her eyes closed. She had to find a way back. One way or the other.

*That night*

Inuyasha had taken his time falling asleep. He drifted off several times—but was constantly awoken because he thought that he had heard something outside. But it just turned out to be the wind or the sounds of bats. He grunted annoyed as he turned his back on the opening of the cave and glanced over his pack once again.

Inuyasha cautiously got to his feet and approached where Kagome slept with Shippo. He bent his head low over her to smell her scent again. She wasn't like any other wolf he ever met… the way she moved, the way she talked… it was like everything was new for her. Had she really gone her whole life without meeting another wolf?

He lowered his snout nearer and took another deep breath and smelled her wonderful scent. There was something different about her… she almost smelled—wild.

No… she was a wolf… she may have been raised by humans.

But she was still a wolf.

Inside she was all wolf.

**(Another chapter down. I know that I've been neglecting this story, but it's because my dumb computer had to go and get viruses and it's taken me awhile to get everything working again. But here's the next chapter and I hope that you all enjoyed it.)**


	15. Dispute Over Territory

_**Chapter 15: Dispute Over Territory**_

**(It can be great fun having visitors. But when someone does visit, you better know what you're getting into. Cause even the best kind of visitor can overstay their welcome. But there's another kind of guest… the kind that no one sees coming. This is the kind of guest that comes uninvited, and totally unexpected. But sooner or later, they have to leave… unless the guest won't leave until they get what they want.)**

Time can be a funny thing… to Kagome; it's hard to believe that it had already been a week since she answered the _'call of the wild'_. She had finally gotten used to the fur, the four legs, and tail… as well as now able to sleep on the cold stone with Shippo curled up with her. She had gotten accustomed to her new life of running, tracking, and hunting… which scared her more than anything else.

It was like she had become a wolf… inside and out…

She still felt terrible for the animals that they had to kill, but she quickly discovered that the usually went for the sick or old ones. They only killed to eat and live—hunters killed for sport. Kagome had accepted that, even if she didn't like it. She now had a family to help feed, and that helped to ease her conscience. Luckily for her, that Sango's prediction had been right, Kagome had proved to be more graceful and faster than the rest of them—second only to Inuyasha.

She often raced him across the high cliffs, which she enjoyed immensely. It was great to get out of that chilly cave and run with the wind rushing pass her. The wind whipped around her, making her black fur flap around her. She let herself enjoy the moment, feeling free with the air around her, making her weightless. She slanted her eyes in defense of her sigh, tasting the sea upon her tongue. A smile spread out about her face, making the corners of her mouth tug upwards.

Inuyasha always won their races, but everyday Kagome would push herself harder to try and beat him. He would only laugh—which made it hard to stay mad with him because he's so cute when he did.

It had snowed several feet of snow during the last few days… and food was getting scarcer by the day. Kagome usually stayed behind with Shippo and Ayame while the others would go out and try to find something edible for them. But as winter started to come in a stronger force, the game was very little. They would be lucky to come back with little rodents or birds… Ayame was given most of it for she had to eat for more than just herself…

Oh, that was the best news of all… Ayame was close to having her pups. Now that they were safe, she had been able to rest and focus on getting ready to become a mother.

'_It shouldn't be much longer,'_ Sango said to Kagome as the two of them sat in front of the cave early one morning and watched Shippo and Kohaku play and wrestle. This time Sango sent the other three boys out to do the hunting today so that they could spend some time together. _'I'm guessing that she's gonna have least three pups… maybe four.'_

'_Great,'_ Kagome said, trying to sound happy; but inside she was worried. They already had trouble feeding everyone already. Kagome only had a few mouthfuls of food since she'd been here and her belly just ached with hunger sometimes. And now they were going to have more mouths to feed… Sango must've guessed what she was thinking.

'_I know it's tough,'_ she told her as Kohaku had Shippo pinned—the two of them laughing up a storm. _'But we're still smaller than Naraku's pack. They have to kill several times a day to keep everyone fed. It's a wonder that there's anything left to eat.'_

'_They sound so horrid,' _Kagome said. With every day that passed, she heard more and more about the other two wolf packs in these parts. She learnt that, while brothers, Inuyasha and Sesshomaru couldn't stand each other. But Sesshomaru usually kept to himself than bother them. It was clear that as long as they didn't cross over to the valley where Sesshomaru ruled, they wouldn't have to worry about any problems.

The real problem seemed to be Naraku and his wolves. So far, Kagome hadn't seen or heard them… however she sometimes smelt the scent of different wolves about when she and Sango went off to practice—or when she raced Inuyasha.

Miroku had told her that they usually only come out at night… but there was a good chance that they were going to confront them sooner or later.

'_For years,'_ Inuyasha said to her one day, now almost two weeks since she joined them, _'We would rule the forest where we first met you. Naraku would rule the cliffs and Sesshomaru would have the valley on the other side of these rocks. But with the hunters here… it's making things so complicated. We have no choice but to move up here during the cold to where the humans can't get us. The downside is that we have to deal with that beast Naraku.'_

'_Is he really that dangerous?'_ Kagome asked as she panted for breath after another race. _'So far, we haven't seen anyone. I mean, I've been catching a few whiffs of other wolves but… we haven't been having any trouble other than the lack of food.'_

'_It's what they do,'_ Inuyasha grunted as he lowered his head to have some of the snow. With the tiny waterfalls and pools around here frozen over, eating the snow was the only way they could get water. _'They'll wait until we're not expecting it, and then they'll attack.'_

Kagome gulped as the two of them both headed back towards the cave. Which had become unbelievably freezing—it often dropped to below zero at night. Thankfully, she had so many furry bodies here to keep warm… _'Will they try to… ah… kill us?'_

'_If they can…'_ Inuyasha answered gruffly and Kagome's heart sank and stopped dead. _'Naraku doesn't give a damn about anyone… not even for his pack. They're all the same to him… expendable.'_

When he noticed that she wasn't moving he looked back at her. It was then he noticed that she was shivering… but not from cold. His expression softened, and he walked back to her and nuzzled his snout into her neck. _'Don't worry,'_ he reassured her. _'I won't let him anywhere near you.'_

Kagome closed her eyes and breathed in his comforting smell. _'I appreciate that… thank you, Inuyasha.'_

*The next day*

They all woke up the unusually warm day. After everyone was up, the boys were starting to go stir crazy like they did every morning and wanted some way to get rid of some of their energy. Miroku suggested that they should go and hunt again… hopefully they would find an elk or goat again… that was all they had to go on at the moment.

Koga and Ayame would stay here while they would all go to the river. After swearing that they would bring back plenty of food for them—Kagome, Sango, and the rest of the boys all took off. Kagome was a little worried that Naraku would be lurking around and watching them all, but she tried hard not to spoil the chance of food and fun for the pups. They all trotted across the snowy rocks, and through the blistering cold wind as they explored the cliffs—wondering what they could find.

So far… nothing. Aside from a few mice and birds, there wasn't anything that could even be remotely filling. But she did her best to cheer everyone up as they continued their search through caves, over boulders, and under ledges… hoping for the tiniest morsel.

After about two hours later they reached a HUGE clearing, with a tiny dribbling pool on the far side and to Kagome's relief, she could see a small herd of goats drinking from there.

'_Oh, thank you!' _Inuyasha said as he came up next to her and they all watched them from the shadows. _'A real meal! Everyone know what to do now?'_

Everyone nodded as Inuyasha and the others all crouched down low. Kagome copied them… knowing her part well.

Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku crept one way and Kagome took Shippo and Kohaku—almost the opposite direction—and kept so low that she could feel her bellow along the smooth stone. They made it to one side of the goats… quietly telling the pups which way to go so that they could time this perfectly. She waited until she could see the others far side of them ready to charge… it was her call now. She nodded to them, feeling nervous. If she timed this wrong, then they were sure to go hungry tonight. She shook her head and waited another few minutes before she felt that the time was right. She and the pups were to only ambush the goats—their job was to howl and cause the herd to panic and scatter… they would leave the killing to the professionals.

'_NOW!' _she called to the boys and a second later all three of them charged at the herd. The poor goats never saw them coming. They howled and snarled—trying to scare them—then Shippo went right and Kohaku went left, forming a wall. If they wanted to escape they would have to go through them…

The oldest goat went barreling right at her however, his horns pointing directly at her. If something wasn't done, then she would be run through with those things…

A few seconds later, Inuyasha sprang out of his hiding place in the thicket and pelted forward towards the charging goat. He had jumped onto it's back and was biting it all over. Miroku ran out and helped him along with Sango's; while Kagome and the pups circled it. The rest of the herd went running off—that was ok. They got what they wanted.

Every way that the poor thing would turn, it would be faced with howling jaws and claws. _'I'm sorry,'_ Kagome said quietly as Inuyasha finally bit into its neck and brought it down, Miroku and Sango had bitten it's legs and caused it to collapse and die. Kagome sniffed the dead goat's scent and felt her stomach roar with hunger, she smiled at how well Inuyasha had taken that deer down, and for she could never had done something like that.

They all sat back and let out a loud howl—letting Koga and Ayame know that the hunt was successful. Sango looked at Kagome and said with a bloody muzzle, '_Nice. We make a good team.'_

'_Thanks,' _Kagome answered as she joined the feast and felt her own muzzle become stained with blood as she ate.Kagome had gotten used to eating like this… not that she ever enjoyed it though. But hunger always won over in the end. It tasted sweet and sour… and of course bloody but nonetheless it wasn't half bad. _'But I still don't see why you let me in charge of the attack like that.'_

'_You need to get used to this, Kagome,' _Sango told her._ 'You can't sit back at the cave forever. I think you still have a ways to go before you're ready to hunt like us. But you are improving quickly. When the cold is finally over and we go back to the forest, I think we can start to let you hunt deer…'_

They all continued to eat until they were full and there was still plenty left for Ayame and Koga. So while Kagome, Sango, Miroku, and Inuyasha decided to go to the tiny pool to drink; the pups were in charge of taking the rest of the kill back to the cave. They were all told to take it straight back to Ayame and Koga—and not to stop for anything.

'_A feast like that is bound to be good for any scavengers,'_ Inuyasha told them. _'But hurry back as fast as you can.'_

The pups nodded and with a great effort were able to drag the meat away from the pool and down the path that they came in a great hurry. Kagome watched them go until they were out of her sighs before she joined the others. It was a little warmer today than it had been for the last two weeks so there was enough water melted for them to all drink from. Kagome quickly lapped up some water then she put her whole muzzle into the pool. She kept dipping her muzzle in and out of the water until she had been able to wash off all the blood.

'_What are you doing?' _Inuyasha asked her when he looked up.

'_I'm washing off all the blood. When it hardens, it's hard to get off. I hate that. You guys should try it,' _said Kagome as she looked up, her mouth dripping wet.

Sango didn't need to be told twice she loved trying new things so she stuck her whole head into water and did exactly what Kagome had done. Once Sango was done she smiled, _'Oh, that feels so good! Why didn't we think of this before?' _asked Sango happily as she shook the water out of her fur.

The boys repeated the process._ 'Kagome, you are something else! I feel great! Especially now that we had a full meal!' _said Miroku running over to her and rubbing his snout against hers in thanks. Kagome smiled when Inuyasha smiled at her, he looked like he was about to say something—but he didn't get the chance to. Because at that moment they all heard the sounds of paws running towards them…

They all jumped and turned in the direction of the sounds; Inuyasha standing in front of them all, and they all started growling.

'_What is it?'_ Kagome gasped in fear as Inuyasha stood directly in front of her.

'_Naraku,' _said Inuyasha in disgust. _'No matter what, Kagome, stay behind me.'_

Not a second later, about three wolves appeared before them; one male and two female wolves came trotting over to them. But not close enough for them to leap up and attack though. Kagome stuck her head out to look at them… the smallest one looked to be no older than Kohaku—she was completely white with black, almost dead looking eyes that sent shivers down her spine. The second female looked much older, and scruffier than the others. Like she was used to having the wind sweep her fur around.

The last wolf, and only male, was black with a white face and paws… the black fur looked almost metallic—like it couldn't be real. But the scariest part were his eyes… cold, red eyes looking at them all… as if calculating what he should do next…

'_Well, well, well. If it isn't my good friend Inuyasha,'_ the male said as he lazily walked over to them, the girls right behind him. He looked over them all—his eyes lingering on Inuyasha, Miroku and Sango… and then his sight landed on her. He looked surprised as his gaze found hers and Kagome took a few steps backwards. He seemed to grin at her evilly… Kagome felt sick as he looked at her that way.

'_And what do we have here? Another female? Now, Inuyasha where did you get her? Tell me, I don't think I've seen her around before?' _Naraku asked silkily as he took a few more steps towards her.

'_Keh, why would I tell you anything?' _Inuyasha spat furiously, putting himself directly in front of Naraku, hiding Kagome from his view.

Naraku shook his head._ 'You haven't changed at all since the last time we met. Now then, whatever happened to our agreement? The cliffs here belong to me do they not? Why are you all in my territory?'_

'_You know why!' _Miroku snapped back. _'We wouldn't be here if we didn't have any other choice. You keep to yourself, and we keep to ours. We'll leave as soon as the humans clear out.'_

'_You will be in my sight or where I hunt. Or I will kill each and every one of you,'_ Naraku said. _'The food here is ours. Now you do what we say… or you can hand over your pretty new friend…'_ Kagome thought that she was going to be sick as he looked at her.

'_She's a strong young wolf… much like yourself, Sango,'_ Naraku said as he looked to Sango who seemed to be fighting the urge to attack. _'I see that you aren't willing to take up my offer?'_

'_What offer?'_ Sango snarled. _'To become part of your pack? I rather die than go anywhere near you!'_

'_Well, that was rude,'_ Naraku said as he looked back to Kagome._ 'A simple, __no__ would've been well.'_

Kagome didn't know where her anger was coming from, but she suddenly felt rage coming up from inside her. She barred her teeth and began to growl at him. _'Go away!'_ she barked, sounding braver than she felt. She didn't know much about this guy, but she knew that she didn't like him.

'_Oh?'_ Naraku said as he looked at her with new interest._ 'A fighter as well? Well, I wasn't offering you to join me my dear… at least… not yet.'_

'_If you're going to try and take her you're going to have to get through me first,'_ snarled Inuyasha, and before anyone else could do anything, he charged. Both wolves were circling each other, snapping and biting at the other. The two fought and fought, they both were bleeding all over, that was when the girls that were with Naraku also came running forward and Miroku and Sango went after them. (Sango fighting the older female and Miroku—the white one.)

Kagome leapt back, not knowing what to do as the battle took place—little did she know was that the windswept wolf had slipped away while Sango turned to help Miroku, and crept behind Kagome. Kagome was too late when she finally realized she was in danger, she spun around only to get clawed in the side by the female wolf.

She cried out in pain and fell to the ground, the wolf smiled and walked slowly towards her, she looked up and her with fear. Just as she lifted up her paw to finish her off… suddenly, a silver blur flew at her crying, _'No!'_

Inuyasha had appeared; Miroku and Sango circling Kagome and shielding her from the enemy. Kagome heard Naraku, rather than saw him._ 'Not bad! Not bad at all! We'll let you all live for now… but be warned, Inuyasha. This is our territory. Soon, you will have to pay the price for coming here.'_

And then they were gone.

Inuyasha, gasping for air, raced back to Kagome's side. _'Kagome? Are you alright?'_

'_I… I think so,' _she gasped as she looked up into his worried face._ 'I'm sorry that I wasn't more help… I just.'_

'_Just shut up. Look, we have to get you back to the cave or else you're an open target for them. Think you can walk?' _Kagome looked up and nodded, and then they all helped her to pushed herself up so she was standing. Inuyasha walked her back by walking on the one side of her body where she was injured, so she could lean on him. Sango walked on the other, telling her words of comfort and promised that they would take care of her when they got back.

When they did, the pups came running out to meet them, ready to tell them that they got the food back. At least until they saw them. All of them were injured… Sango had a bad scratch across her face, Miroku's leg was bleeding as he limped, and Inuyasha's silver fur was just matted in blood.

Kagome's side felt like it was on fire, and knew that the claws that raked her were deep. But she gritted her teeth as she allowed them all to lead them back to the safety of stone opening. When they entered, Koga and Ayame both gasped and Koga went over to see what had happened. Miroku quickly told them of their encounter with Naraku, and Koga said that he would keep watch tonight.

While they talked about what they were going to do, Inuyasha walked her over a spot on the cave floor that was covered in dead leaves and bent down so she could lie down.

She didn't argue, she just breathed deeply and whimpered as the blood continued to soak her side. Inuyasha sat down next to her and looked at her with sad eyes. She turned her head and tried to lick her wound but couldn't quite reach it so Inuyasha lied down next to her and licked it for her. _'But Inuyasha, you're injured to,' _she told him worriedly.

'_Keh,' _he said. _'I've had far worse injuries. This is nothing. It's you who's in trouble.'_

She smiled at him then said, _'Thank You,'_ the best that she could.

'_For what?'_ he asked between licks.

'_For saving me, I could have been killed,'_ she answered as she rolled her eyes. Wasn't it obvious?

'_But I wasn't quick enough, you were still hurt because I wasn't paying attention,'_ he said stopping and looking at her full in the face.

Kagome looked at him for a moment rubbed her snout against his and smiled, _'I don't blame you. Thank you saving me.' _After she said that she bent her head down and licked his bleeding paw and he smiled. Shippo then ran over to them to see what he could do to help her.

After she had assured him several hundred times that she would be fine, they both went to sleep. But Inuyasha stayed awake for a long time. He waited to see the others, aside from Koga—who would constantly stare at the entrance, as if expecting Naraku to appear. He, too, looked up at the cave opening and he could see that it was snowing again. This would most likely be the last warm day for awhile and they were to expect nothing but cold from now on. He could feel Kagome shivering so he scooted closer to her so his body was right up against hers.

**(Awww… isn't that cute? They're getting closer and Kagome's is getting used to her knew furry life. Well, Naraku has finally shown up. Hope you all enjoyed it, and sorry for the long wait. I'm having a lot of trouble getting inspiration for this story.)**


	16. Moonsong

_**Chapter 16: Moonsong**_

**(There are strangers everywhere. But the scariest strangers… are the ones inside us. Everybody's got more than one side. So don't think you know everything about someone by looking at what your eyes see. If you do that, you could miss out on a whole lot beneath the surface.)**

Kagome had a very strange dream when she went to sleep that night.

_She was sitting underneath a tall, thin and scraggly tree, out of place in the large open field. It seemed like a forest clearing. Behind her, a long way off, was a bunch of densely packed trees were standing; while to her left was a gently slanting slope that led downhill. Everywhere else was open land. Kagome could make out more trees in the distance and… was that a mountain? Just how big was this place? Kagome sighed._

_She had no idea where… but more importantly…_

_She was alone._

_She looked up at the sky—it was twilight and there in the sky, more pink-colored than red, was a crimson moon. Kagome finally began to understand, even if it was only a piece of this huge puzzle she had found herself in._

_She got to her feet and was vaguely surprised to realize that she was a human again… she stood up on her normal two legs and started walking along the winding dirt road. What she was looking for, she had no idea. _

_She continued walking for so long, that the sky grew darker and darker until the twilight had been replaced by thousands of stars. So many stars filled the sky that it cast the world in an unearthly glow… she had never seen this many nor as clear before. _

_She finally came to stop underneath a large, aged tree and was gazing up at the reddish moon. She smiled as she leaned back against the trunk—only to realize that it was warm and soft. She jumped back and spun around to see that she wasn't alone after all._

_She couldn't see his face as he stood in the shade of the tree, but Kagome could tell that she had never seen him before in her life—and yet there was something… familiar about him. He stepped out of the darkness of the tree and drew nearer to her. __Kagome's eyes widened as the appearance of a young man, looking a little older than she did stepped into the weak light. _

_As she got a good look at him, she noted that he was handsome. He had a completely flawless face, with long, flowing silver hair that was longer than any girl's hair that she'd ever seen. He was tall too, about a good foot taller than her. He was dressed in a crimson-red kimono and pants that looked to be made of some strange material, with a sword hanging by his side. _

_But what really amazed her wasn't the outfit, the silver hair… _

_No it was his eyes and ears. Eyes that looked as if they were made of pure, liquid gold, and two silver dog ears resting on top of his head that twitched around at the tiniest sound. Kagome took in the appearance of the teenager walking, barefooted, towards them. Kagome could feel her heart beating against her chest in an almost violent manner… as if it was trying to break free. _

_As Kagome was able to get a clear look at the boy's face, her eyes widened and a blushing red began to cover her cheeks. The way that his silver hair blended into the moonlight, and the way that his golden eyes shone from his handsome face… _

_The two silver dog ears were sticking up at the top of his head, twitching at every sound. She stared at them—suddenly realizing where she had seen those silver ears before._

"_I-Inuyasha?" she whispered._

_He smiled as he came forward towards her. Her fear and anxiety faded almost at once and she also closed the gap between them and…_

She woke up.

Kagome's eyes snapped open and her head looked up around her. She was back in the cold and hard cave—and everyone else was still sleeping… it took her a few minutes for her to realize what had just happened. She sighed unhappily and tried to get up… but a terrible pain refused to allow her to.

'_Don't move,'_ said a rough voice. She jumped and looked to her side to see Inuyasha was lying next to her; so close that their sides were almost touching… it was then that Kagome realized that Shippo was sleeping—all curled up on her other side—but she didn't pay too much attention to that at the moment.

'_Inuyasha?'_ she asked almost startled. She looked into his face and, for a moment, she could see the same person she saw in the dream. It was a very good thing she had such thick black fur to hide her blushing. Inuyasha didn't answer as he slowly got to his feet and was limping slightly on his hurt paw as he walked to the cave entry. Kagome stared at it, confused, until she remembered what happened yesterday.

'_So that really did happen… we were attacked,'_ she said to him. She tried to get back up, but her side was hurting so badly that she let out a whimper. Inuyasha turned and walked back over until he touched his snout to her side and she hissed in pain. While she had stopped bleeding, she felt as if she was full of broken shards of glass.

'_Serves you right,'_ he told her in a pompous voice. _'After an injury like that, you won't be able to move until you recover. You stay here. I'll go and check around.'_

'_Hey! You can barely move too!'_ she said loudly, but regretted it almost at once when she noticed Shippo rolled over in his sleep. Kagome's attention was distracted long enough so that when she looked back, he was gone. She felt the need to scream. That… that… wolf!

Honestly, she didn't know why she dreamt of him last night… but as that thought came to her she could feel herself getting warm and put her head back down onto her front paws—trying to think about what was happening to her. Why did she have a dream like that? But then again, it was a human—or something like that—in her dream so it couldn't have been Inuyasha… could it? She woke up before she could find out. But it couldn't have been Inuyasha… could it?

She sat like that for a little while, trying to figure out what her heart was trying to tell her, until the others awoke and began stretching and groaning. _'Good morning,'_ she told them all.

'_For who?'_ Sango asked grumpily as she shook out her knotted fur. _'I can't stand it! I can't believe that we nearly got killed yesterday.'_

'_Do you have to bring that up?'_ Kagome asked wearily as Shippo opened his sleepy eyes. _'I'm still aching from that.'_

Sango's expression softens slightly as she got up and butted noses with her. _'Sorry,'_ she said. _'I just hate the fact that wolf beat us.'_

'_Sad thing is he does have a point,'_ Miroku said as he stretched out his stiff limbs. _'We are in __**his**__ territory after all.'_

'_That doesn't mean that he has a right to try and kill us,'_ she told him coldly. _'I know that we made a deal with him but we don't have anywhere else to go. I'm sure I speak for all of us that we rather be back in our forest than sitting here hiding in a cave. But we can't risk it with the hunters there.'_

'_It's too bad that there's not enough food up here for everyone,' _Miroku sighed._ 'Maybe if there were, we wouldn't be stuck in this situation.'_

Kagome felt sick every time that the word humans were mentioned and asked, _'How long do you think we have to stay here?'_

Sango sighed as she walked over to Kohaku and tried to rouse him from his sleep. _'Until the humans go away. And that usually doesn't happen until the end of this cold weather. So we all better become comfortable.'_

Shippo rolled over and the first thing he saw was Kagome_. 'Kagome?' _he cried and ran around to face her._ 'Are you feeling better now?'_

Kagome smiled and gently nudged her nose against his. _'Yes, I'm feeling a lot better today. But…'_ she glanced at her side, to see that it was now matted with dried blood. _'It still really hurts. I don't think that I'll be going anywhere today.'_

'_No need to push yourself, Kagome,'_ Miroku cut in as he limped over to the entrance. _'You need to focus on recovering. I don't think it's safe for any of us to be hunting today. We still have a little bit of the goat from yesterday and I think we can make that last until it's safe to go out again.'_

'_I can't stand this,'_ Kohaku sighed. _'I want to go __**home**__.'_

'_We all do, Kohaku,'_ Sango said sadly. _'But with humans swarming the woods we have no choice but to hide up here until they leave.'_

'_Hey,'_ Koga suddenly said as he walked over from checking on Ayame. _'Where's the mutt?'_

They all looked around to see that Inuyasha was indeed gone.

'_Oh, great!'_ Shippo called out sarcastically. _'Where did that idiot go now!'_

'_He said that he wanted to go check something out,'_ Kagome told them. _'I woke up just before he left. I tried to stop him but…' _she trailed off, but they understood.

'_Don't worry, it's not your fault Kagome,'_ Miroku answered. _'You can hardly move at all… and Inuyasha… well…'_ he laughed. _'He's always running off somewhere he'll be back soon though. At least I hope he does.'_

And so they spent the day talking—the pups playing—wondering what they were going to do now. How were they supposed to survive the rest of winter like this?

_*Later*_

Inuyasha finally returned at almost midday, panting hard—suggesting that he did a lot of running.

'_Where were you?'_ Shippo demanded and walked up to face him. _'If you were hunting you better at least brought back something good.'_

'_I wasn't hunting you little runt,' _Inuyasha snapped at him and walked right over him as if he wasn't there.

'_Then, Inuyasha,' _Miroku asked politely, _'Pray tell, where were you all this time? If you were thinking about going after Naraku…'_

'_I went to go and see what those humans are planning,'_ he said as he lay down on his usual patch of dead leaves not far from Kagome. They all stared at him, unable to find anything to say. Shippo had been the first one to break the silence.

'_Are you nuts?'_ Shippo cried as he jumped up and landed on Inuyasha's head._ 'You could've been killed!'_

'_Keh,'_ Inuyasha snorted._ 'Like I'd let a human kill me. Maybe I'll die at the hands of someone stronger than me someday, but they sure won't be humans.'_

'_That doesn't mean that you can run off without having some kind of backup,'_ Miroku chastised. _'You may be fast, Inuyasha. But those humans have been hunting 'Quicksilver' for a long time now. They aren't going to stop without getting you.'_

'_Oh?'_ Inuyasha asked sarcastically. _'What about Darkmoon? They've been after him for almost as long.'_

Kagome looked from Miroku and Inuyasha—no idea what was going on. But she seemed to be missing some kind of joke as they all began to laugh. _'Darkmoon?'_ she repeated confused.

'_Miroku,'_ Koga snorted. _'The humans picked the strangest names for us all.' _He looked at Inuyasha,_ 'Inuyasha's Quicksilver, and Miroku's Darkmoon.'_

Kagome looked at Miroku and could see what he meant. Miroku's coat was a beautiful blue-grey and blue-green like the color of a darkened moon. _'What about all of you?'_ she asked

They all laughed again. _'Well,'_ Sango said as she stretched. _'I'm not sure if I told you this. But they all call me Battleclaw. And seeing how I bear my claws as well as teeth in battle, you can see why.'_

Kagome joined in laughing as she nudged the playful Shippo. _'Do you have one?'_ she asked him. He looked up at her proudly and said, _'Flicker. They call me that because my tail is always flicking around.'_

And as if to prove his point, his tail began to twitch. He turned his head towards Kohaku and asked, _'Isn't yours fuzzball?'_

Kohaku gave him the evil eye as the others all roared with laughter. _'It's Fleetfoot and you know it!' _he snapped at him. Kagome nodded at that, knowing that Kohaku was incredibly light on his feet. _'And what about you both?'_ she called to Koga and Ayame.

'_Koga's called Rebel,'_ Inuyasha said rolling his eyes_. 'Something about not being able to follow orders or something? Describes him perfectly.'_

'_Only cause I'm the better leader,' _Koga retorted.

'_Yeah?' _Inuyasha barked back._ 'You wanna bet?'_

Sango leaned in to her and whispered,_ 'They fight like this all the time. Koga swears that he would be a better leader and they are always fighting over becoming Alpha.'_

'_Is he?' _Kagome asked.

She shrugged._ 'Hard to say. They both are so alike it's almost scary. The two of them could fight forever, but they would never go as far as to actually kill each other.'_

'_That's good to hear,' _she replied. But when the boys continued arguing, she turned to Ayame and asked, 'Do you have a cool nickname too?

Ayame blushed and nodded her head. _'Because I'm peach colored—I'm called Peachblossom.'_

'_Awwww,'_ Kagome cooed and they all started laughing again. She stopped long enough to look at Inuyasha and asked, _'Are you sure that you're ok? They didn't see you or anything did they?'_

'_I'm fine. For all their bragging about being great hunters, they sure don't see well,'_ Inuyasha smirked. He looked over at Kagome_. 'I didn't get near enough for them to notice me. But I did over hear them. They just gave a nickname for you to.'_

Kagome stared at him._ 'Are you serious?'_ she cried.

'_Yep,'_ he yawned. _'They name all the wolves and you sure freaked them out when you came out of nowhere. Moonsong… that's what they're calling you. Because of your song. Sure gave them the scare the other day.'_

Kagome started feeling warm again. They continued to talk and play inside that cave, eating what they could from yesterday's kill. Kagome was hungry again, but she had to settle on chewing on one of the bones as they gave most of the food to the pups and Ayame. She made a silent promise to herself that if she ever became human again, she would become a vegetarian.

'_I want to go back out,'_ Kohaku sighed as he stared out at the setting sun. _'Like how we used to.'_

'_We can't,'_ Sango said sadly as she curled up. _'We all miss howling at night. But we can't right now. We can't let Naraku know where we are.'_

And so, they had nothing else to do but to close their eyes and try to sleep. Though it was only until after the moon had risen high in the sky and the stars had been out for a long time.

As she curled up with Shippo, Kagome wondered about who she was. Was she still Kagome? The more she lived with her new friends, the more she began to enjoy herself. What would she have become had she never become a wolf? She gulped at the thought. Would she have been the one responsible for the deaths of anyone here? Shippo, Ayame and her pups? Or Inuyasha? She shivered at the thought.

She had learned so much about herself in these last few weeks… she hardly recognized herself anymore. It was scary. Who was she anymore? Was she still Kagome Higurashi? Or Moonsong? A human being… or a wolf?

She glanced up at the shining moon. The longer she remained a wolf… the more she seemed to becoming Moonsong… and less of Kagome Higurashi…

**(Done with another chapter. I never thought this story would be so hard to do. But I hoped you liked it. And I really hope you like the nicknames that I came up for them all. I'll get the next chapter up as soon as possible—and if you don't like it, please be kind.)**


	17. Dark Moon

_**Chapter 17: Dark Moon**_

**(Have you ever wondered if there could be total silence? What if you could stop every sound? Every note? Every breath? You couldn't. Where there's life, there's sound. Say that another way… you take away sound, you take away... Life! Silence is power. The power of the unknown, the unspoken… the trick is to know when to welcome it, or be very afraid.)**

Koga and Inuyasha had already left the cave as soon as the sun started to rise—obviously out hunting for some more food. This time it was Miroku who was outside of the cave guarding the entrance and Sango was sitting up keeping an eye on the others—waiting for them to wake up.

Kohaku was sleeping on his side and his legs were twitching slightly as if he was dreaming that he was running; Sango smiled and had to fight back a laugh. And then there was Shippo on his back and snoring with his tongue hanging out… he looked so cute. And finally, Kagome was lying on her uninjured side right beside Shippo. Her black fur was still coated in dried blood, but her wound had stopped bleeding.

Kagome whimpered slightly and woke up; she looked around to see Sango right in front of her smiling kindly—and a little worried. She yawned and realized she was in the cave, she soon remembered why. _'Morning Kagome. How are you feeling today?'_ Sango asked and got up to check on her.

'_Um morning. A little better although it still hurts a lot,' _Kagome answered glancing at her healing wound. _'Thank you,' _she added softly.

Kagome stretched painfully before she looked around. _'Where is everyone?' _she asked her.

Sango looked to the cave entry. _'Miroku's keeping guard. The boys went off to find some more food—and to make sure that Naraku's pack isn't around.'_

Kagome shivered at the thought of Naraku but she painstakingly got back to her feet, letting Shippo roll around underneath her. She didn't want to show Sango that she was still afraid of him. _'They aren't anywhere near here are they?'_ she asked, hoping she didn't sound too worried.

'_That's hard to say,' _Sango admitted as she led the way out of the cave_. 'I mean, it wouldn't have been difficult for them to have watched us come back here. Normally we would keep moving from cave to cave to keep them guessing. But…' _she glanced back at the sleeping Ayame and Kagome nodded.

'_Yeah,' _Kagome finished. _'Ayame is close to having pups now.'_

'_Any day now,' _Sango shook her head. _'Why couldn't see think about having them after the snow?'_

'_We'll manage,' _Kagome said as they both exited the cave and came face-to-face with Miroku who was looking around as if bored. But he brightened up as soon as he saw Sango.

'_My dear…' _he began but Sango took a little nip of his ears before he was able to finish.

'_Shut it,' _she warned threateningly. _'I'm not in the mood.'_

But this didn't seem to put a stop to Miroku. He just looked disappointed for a moment, before he looked up and said, _'No need to explain Sango. I mean… we still have the rest of our lives for you to…'_

She slammed him into the ground and walked away annoyed. Kagome only shook her head and asked him, _'You just don't learn do you?'_

'_I can't help it,' _he sighed as he rolled over onto his back and looked up at the sky with a dreamy look in his face. _'She's so…'_

'_Urgh,' _Kagome said as she walked after Sango. _'I don't want to know what's going on in that head of yours.'_

Kagome followed after Sango in a weary sort of way, still wincing in pain as she moved. She asked Sango where they were going, and she answered that they needed to get cleaned up. After all, with all this blood on them, it didn't help hide their smell from Naraku.

Soon enough, the two females were at the tiny stream where they could wash the matted blood off them. To say that it wasn't painful would be a downright lie. The icy-cold water mixed with the frigid weather only served to make it sting and burn Kagome's side.

But the thought of feeling clean again was what kept her going. To just feel a tiny piece of her old self would be a welcomed relief… and if this helped protect her from Naraku finding her then all the more reason. So she gritted her teeth and allowed the bitter cold water to wash the blood downstream. Once the redness had left her fur, leaving it black and shinny again, did she come out and shook herself.

Sango had also come out by that time. _'That's better,'_ she said and the two of them headed back to the cave to properly dry off. _'I can't tell you how glad I'll be when this cold weather is over and we can go home. I'll have to show you some of the best places to go once we return to the woods. And our den…'_

Kagome looked up at her. She hadn't given it much thought but now she was suddenly struck with the idea of being stuck with four legs till then. Was she stuck with this curse for good? Was there a time limit? Did this last for another few hours, days… and then she would suddenly turn back again? Would it wear off at all? Was there a trick behind it? She had run all these possibilities over and over in her head countless times whenever she was given some time alone to think.

She had been gone for over three weeks now. Her family must think that she was probably… she shivered at that thought.

'_You cold?'_ Sango's worried voice interrupted her thoughts.

'_What?'_ Kagome asked in surprise and looked at her.

'_You're shivering,'_ Sango pointed out, mistaking Kagome's shiver for cold instead of fear. _'Even with fur we can easily get sick. Come on, let's go back to the den and warm up. If only we were still in the woods. Our den there is so much warmer than the ones up here.'_

Kagome could only nod dully as she went back to trying to think of a way to break this curse. She wasn't sure how much longer she would be able to hold onto herself. The longer she remained as a wolf, the more she began to feel—wild.

More wolf than human.

The two of them made it back to the den and by that time, everyone else was awake. The two pups were running around the entrance and wrestling each other while Miroku watched. Shippo was the first one to notice that they were back. He looked up and went bounding over to Kagome.

'_Kagome!'_ he called happily. _'There you are! Where have you been? Why are you wet? Aren't you cold?'_ he went on with asking the questions until she started laughing and ducked down into the den.

'_I'm fine, Shippo,'_ she told him consolingly. _'We just went to go and wash off all the blood. I'm feeling a lot better. I just need a little more rest.'_

She told Shippo to go back out and play and she would keep an eye on Ayame who was still sleeping. Kagome rested on her bed of dead leaves and became lost in her gloomy thoughts about her family and how they were doing.

She was so lost in thoughts that she didn't hear Inuyasha step back inside until he came up to her. She jumped up at his sudden closeness. _'Don't do that,'_ she told him off.

'_Do what?'_ he asked sarcastically as he dropped something at her feet. _'Breathing? It's not my fault that you were dozing off.'_

She gave him an annoyed look before she lay back down. It was then that he was looking at her now clean side and she told him that she and Sango left to get cleaned up.

'_Keh, you realized that you could've been in a lot of danger?'_ he asked.

'_I'm fine. Nothing happened,' _she told him cocky. She looked at her feet to see what it was he had dropped. Two fact rabbits.

'_You and me have to share one,'_ he told her. _'But when Ayame wakes up she gets one to herself. The others are all fighting over the food outside.'_

'_Oh,'_ she said in surprise turning her head to hide that she was blushing. Inuyasha cocked his head wondering if he had done something wrong. _'Your paw?'_ she asked looking at his leg and Inuyasha lifted the paw and she looked at it. _'It's fine. I've had worse. But are you going to eat or not?'_ Inuyasha asked her.

'_Starving,'_ Kagome answered. She smiled at him, then she bent her head down and starting eating, Inuyasha followed her lead and started also. After it was picked clean of all the meat Inuyasha licked his lips as did Kagome.

Inuyasha had this one piece of bloody meat stuck to his muzzle, which he hadn't noticed but Kagome had. So she lifted her muzzled up to his and licked the meat off, it startled Inuyasha, since he didn't know what she was doing, causing him to turn his head towards her causing his nose to meet hers. Kagome couldn't believe what was happening, she couldn't move or she didn't want to move. It was almost as if they were sharing a kiss.

She turned away from him and for a moment wondered if it would've been worth it to turn and run away. Inuyasha stayed in that same position frozen from shock,

'_I'm… um… sorry,'_ he muttered embarrassed. Kagome just shook wildly, she was afraid to look at him, she wanted to say something but she didn't know what to say. He then turned and backed out of the den and almost bolted for the outside world.

Leaving Kagome in there thinking about what happened until she fell asleep.

*Dream*

_Kagome was dressed in her nightgown and her bare feet crossed the threshold of what was to the cabin where she had stayed with her family. The oak flooring creaked beneath her feet and let her feet guide her through the front hall to the dining room. _

_It was empty… using her hands against the walls to keep balance, unsteady on her own legs after now becoming so used to running with paws. She moved up the steps carefully, not knowing why she was here. She walked upstairs to the room that had been hers when she was here… it looked exactly as it did when she last saw it. Even her blankets were on the floor where she had stumbled out of her nice warm bed only to look into the mirror and see what she had become._

_She walked over to the abandoned sheets and bent down to pick up the necklace that had been behind it all. The jewel that once held the image of the wolf was now empty and she sighed as she put it back around her neck._

_And then that was when she heard them._

_Voices echoed through the house calling her name. The voices of her mother, father, and of Sota were here… she knew them anywhere._

_As much as she wanted to go down and be with her family, she couldn't. Even when her cheeks were stained from the tears pouring down her face and her heart was beating painfully—she knew that she couldn't go and be with them. _

_She waited for the footsteps and voices to fade away before she softly walked down the stairs, every floor board creaking from its age plus her weight. But just as she reached the bottom step, the front door opened before her. Immediately, she took a step back in shock and almost tripped on the bottom step. Regaining her composure, she headed to the door and stepped outside into pitch darkness. Silence greeted her ears._

_And then she heard in the distance the sound of wolves singing… she smiled at the music…_

_She stepped out onto the dark grass—there was no moon in the sky—not that she needed it. She could feel the music of the wolves inside her… it was as if she had become one with the heart of Mother Nature itself. There was water flowing through her instead of blood… the earth had become her flesh… there was wind inside her instead of air… the moon had become her heart. _

_She hit the ground running and off into the darkness. Kagome Higurashi was left behind… as Moonsong reared back her head and began to howl._

*End of Dream*

Kagome woke with a start. She gasped for air and looked around at the miserable cave… her heart aching in her chest. What was that? Another dream? What was happening? _'Kagome?'_ Shippo's voice called from the outside and she jumped slightly. _'Are you coming? I want to show you a new hunting trick!'_

Kagome sighed… half happy/half sad as she got up and went out to see what Shippo wanted to show her.

*Two Days later*

Kagome was now able to walk and almost run again after a couple more days. Her wound was healing nicely thanks to her new friends. Early one more, Kagome was outside lying in the sun with Sango—enjoying a rare and warm sun; a little ways away was Inuyasha and Miroku watching them.

'_So, what do you think about Kagome now?'_ Miroku questioned, feeling safe that the girls couldn't hear him.

'_What do you want me to say?' _he asked him._ 'She's tough, I'll say that much of her. Not many could survive a wound like that.'_

Miroku nodded, and they continued to talk about it for a little while before the girls started to get bored of lying there and doing nothing. _'Sango. I want to try to run today. I don't know how much more I can do,' _said Kagome.

Sango popped open one eye and asked concerned, '_Are you sure? Your wound is still not completely healed and it could hurt.' _

'_I know but I want to try?' _pleaded Kagome. _'I'm not sure how much longer I can take this; everyone treating me like I'm really fragile. I'm feeling better than I had in days… so please just a quick run?'_

'_Oh alright but the second you start feeling pain we're going to stop,' _said Sango getting up, Kagome smiled then got up to only a lot slower. _'Alright try not to hurt yourself,' _she warned her again.

Kagome nodded then crouched just like she was taught before. Inuyasha and Miroku came trotting over, _'Hey, what's going on?' _Inuyasha asked.

'_She wants to try to run so I say let her if that's what she wants,'_ Sango answered in a teasing tone. Kagome then bent down even lower then shot off like a bullet; enjoying the feeling of the wind rushing past her. It only took her a few seconds to go from zero—to the speed of the wind. Not long however, her three friends caught up to her.

'_Wow! You're as fast as me if not faster! And you're injured, but doesn't it hurt?'_ Sango questioned next to her.

'_Actually no, I barely feel it!' _Kagome called back honestly. _'I feel a lot better and a lot faster than ever before. I think being crimpled for so long has give in me more strength in my legs and an extra boost.'_

'_It's always good to race against someone when you don't need to slow down because you felt bad for them!'_ Miroku panted, coming up on them.

But she left them behind as Inuyasha came up from behind. She smiled as she sped up to race with him… the only one who could ever hope to beat him in a race. Finally, after about ten more minutes, she was completely exhausted. She stopped and panted for air—her lungs hurting—and her heart beating. It was amazing to become free again.

'_That was great. I never would have thought that you'd be that fast especially when you're injured,'_ said Inuyasha softly so only Kagome heard him just as their friends caught up with them. They laughed together for a moment before they trekked back to their den—all of them feeling better than they had in a long time.

'_Thanks that means a lot coming from you,'_ said Kagome smiling at him after walking for a while. They talked and laughed with each other—enjoying the quiet peace of the mountain… at least until…

They heard Koga's panicking howl coming from the den. They all froze for a moment before they sprinted back. This cry could only mean two things: Intruders or Ayame was finally having her pups.

**(Wow! Is Ayame having her puppies now? What are they going to do? And if she isn't having pups, then who's at the den? And what about the dream? What else could be happening to Kagome? Sorry for the long wait—but I really hope that you enjoy the late chapter. Thank you.)**


	18. I'll Always Be with You

_**Chapter 17: I'll Always Be with You**_

**(****Promises… when you make a promise… it is a pledge, something to rely on. You should ****never**** break a promise, cause if you do, it might come back to haunt you. )**

For a moment, everyone stood there frozen before they were able to snap back to the matter at hand. Crouching low, they sprinted towards the cave, all preparing themselves for whatever was about to come. It was either an intruder… or new lives about to enter the world.

They knew that they weren't being as careful as they normally would, as they ran through the maze of rocks and boulders. After all, if Naraku or one of his wolves had been watching, they would be sitting ducks and never have sensed him coming. But there was only one thing on their minds. What was going on at the den?

They found out soon enough however… making it back to the cave in record time.

And when they did, Ayame was indeed in the process of giving birth to the pups.

Koga was pacing back and forth in front of the den anxiously. He looked up when they slowed down, panting for breath and he demanded angrily—though there was a hint of panic in his voice, _'Where have you all been? Ayame's having the pups now and we needed you here!'_

'_Give us a break!' _Inuyasha yelled back as Kohaku and Shippo came running out of the cave, _'If we knew she was finally going to have them, we wouldn't have gone out!'_

'_Sister!' _Kohaku called when he saw her._ 'Ayame's in there! She wants you!'_

Sango nodded to him before she turned to the others. _'Shut up both of you!' _Sango commanded Inuyasha and Koga as she walked past him and into the cave; leaving the rest of them to just wait outside.

'_This is Ayame's first litter, it's hard enough without you all shouting!'_ she called to them.

Kagome looked to Koga who had fallen silent and was lying there on the stone with his big paws over his eyes.

'_What are you hoping for?' _she asked gently. _'And how many?'_

He removed his paws to look at her. _'I don't care…'_ he whimpered. _'Just as long as they're healthy.'_

Kagome lowered her head and rubbed it against his in comfort. At that moment, Kohaku and Shippo both came over to talk.

'_Miroku?' _Kohaku asked, _'Once the pups are born, does this mean that you don't need to call us pups anymore?'_

'_Yeah,' _Shippo agreed at once, holding his head up high._ 'We're not babies anymore!'_

'_You both are two shrimpy to be called wolves yet,_' Inuyasha snorted as he lied down.

'_HEY!' _they shouted and tackled him. Inuyasha didn't look bothered however as he just yawned and went to sleep. When it was clear that he wasn't going to get up anytime soon, Shippo sighed and leapt off him to Kagome.

Shippo then looked to her and asked, _'Why aren't we allowed to be in there?'_

'_Ah…' _Kagome said quickly looking around at Miroku, who looked ready to laugh.

'_Well,' _Kagome said slowly, _'Better that I tell you then hear it from Miroku.'_

'_Hey!' _he shouted and this time she laughed.

'_I wouldn't know for sure because I've never had pups,'_ Kagome said as Shippo came over and began to climb on top of her. _'But it's a very painful process from what I've heard. And I don't think that she wants us to see her like this. Besides… it's a very… private matter and I think that we would only make it worst.' _

Shippo tilted his head in confusion, but he didn't ask anything else as he began to play again. He began chasing her tail as she caused it to flick side to side.

They stayed outside for almost an hour in the cold—wishing that they would hurry up so they could go in. And at long last, they heard Sango howl. They all quickly got to their feet and turned to the entrance. Koga almost flew through the doorway and was gone in a blink of an eye.

The atmosphere was so tense, and then all of a sudden several howls were heard and Kagome smiled, and joined in with the pack. The pups were born! Koga and Ayame now had a new family…

They all quickly went in and out of the cold. The first thing they saw was Sango standing over the happy couple, Koga was next to his mate, licking her face and Ayame was lying on her side, looking exhausted, but looking happier than Kagome had ever seen her. She walked a little bit closer to see that there were three tiny puppies all curled up into tiny balls against their mother.

'_Awww!'_ she cooed and Ayame looked up and smiled.

'_Precious aren't they?' _she asked weakly, sounding so tired. _'Two boys and a girl! I can tell that they're going to be just as difficult as their daddy.'_

Koga laughed as the two of them nudged each other's noses lovingly. They all sat, talked, and laughed with each other as they admired the new additions to their pack. Three extra mouths… to feed… but no one was paying much attention to that at the moment. Soon enough, they decided to hit the hay a little early that night—the excitement had taken a toll on them all.

_*Very Early the Next Day*_

Kagome yawned as she rolled over, Shippo rolling off as he always did and she giggled at his sleeping form. She looked back up at Ayame to see her curled up, the three pups were now sucking for milk and Koga was lying protectively in front of them. Kagome shook her head fondly as she got stiffly to her feet and walked out the cave.

It was still dark as she walked up the side of the mountain to overlook the now snow-covered forest that was almost gleaming in the darkness. She had long since lost track of how long she had been here. But the longer she was here—the more she… loved it.

But at the same time, she missed her family. She missed her friends, her house… heck, she even missed school! How long was she going to have to stay here? She never really appreciated how delicious her mother's food was, how warm her bed was, or how comfortable she really lived.

How could anyone survive out here? When she thought of those cavemen who hunted for food every day, she now had a good idea to how difficult it must've been. Most kids just had to worry about being sent to bed without desert!

Here, she had to kill or else she wasn't going to be getting dinner, and risk being killed by a pack of wolves… literally!

She sighed as she looked to the east. The sun was starting to rise as it cast an unearthly glow across the horizon. At that moment, she heard a tiny yawn, and she turned around to see Shippo coming towards her. His eyes glassy and sleepy; he must've been looking for her when he realized that she was gone and she felt bad that he came out here in the cold for her.

'_Kagome?'_ he asked as he came up to stand next to her. _'I woke up and you were gone…'_ he said and he yawned again widely.

Kagome smiled as she nuzzled his nose with hers. _'I'm sorry I woke you. I just needed to get some air.'_

Shippo opened his mouth to say something but he fell at her feet and seemed half asleep already. Kagome chuckled as she licked behind his ears.

'_Kagome?'_ he asked, so groggily that Kagome wasn't sure he said anything for a moment.

'_Kagome… you'll always be here for me won't you?' _Shippo asked softly as he leaned up against her.

Kagome turned her head down to look at him; thinking it all over. What could she say? Just what was she going to do? She didn't want to leave Shippo, but she longed to return home as well… but as he looked into her eyes, she knew that he wasn't going to remember this so she said—unsure of what else to say, _'Yeah… I'll always be with you.'_

Kagome wasn't sure if she would be able to keep that promise, but as she watched him smile and curl up as if he knew that he was safe, she couldn't help but feel as if her heart was about to soar.

It was truly a beautiful sight. Kagome looked up as the world began to glow with the rising sun.

It was a dark dawn, but the sky, still dotted with sparkling stars, was slightly tinted with orange. Everything was quiet, and she sat there for a while, not thinking about anything except the fireflies. What grace they had.

She then watched the skies, it was such a sight to behold as the sun began to rise and the skies were a breathtaking combination of blues, yellows and pinks. She watched for a few more minutes before she picked him up by the scruff of his neck and simply carried him back to the den where he curled up against her warmly and they were soon sleeping deeply. The thought of the promise in both their heads…

**(THREE PUPS! Oh, aren't they cute? But I have a little problem. I need names for them! Anyone have any ideas? Oh, and sorry for such a short chapter, but I'm struggling with this story and dealing with the deletion on my Discovering the Legend stories. I've moved them all, and if you're having trouble trying to find them, it's on my profile.)**


	19. Cat and Dog

_**Chapter 18: Cat and Dog**_

**(****People have been scared of monsters in the wilderness forever. And I'm not just about the strange beasts that can't be explained. Like the Abominable Snowman of Tibet, the Lochness Monster of Scotland, and the demons of Japan. I'm talking about the creatures that we hardly notice but are as every bit as dangerous as monsters.)**

_Kagome was standing up on two legs on the bank of a river that night as the stars twinkled overhead, and the light of the full moon was causing the water that rushed past her to glow like a canal of light._

_She was waiting for someone… for who she wasn't sure. But she just knew that he was there on the other side of the sparkling white river, waiting for her as well. Every time she tried to cross however, the waters would threaten to pull her down and drove her back to the shore. She was forced to stay where she was and wait no matter how much she wanted to be by his side._

_Then something changed. The misty, pearly river separating them changed, growing thinner and smaller as if it was running dry. Across the water on the opposite bank she could see someone now… and she knew that it had been him._

_She smiled and went running across to join him, they were finally close enough to reach out and touch again. Close enough to see his warm golden eyes flash, because he felt the same way she did. His lips would part in a small smile—a smile that was for her and her alone._

_But just as she reached the shore, she suddenly stumbled backwards and began to fall away. She closed her eyes expecting to fall into the water, but she felt him grab her hand and pulled her back. She was pulled up so sharply that she was rammed into his strong and warm chest, feeling safe again as he wrapped his arms around her slim frame. She looked up into his face and into the golden eyes that she loved so dearly shining through the darkness. She didn't know who he was… but somehow she knew __him__, though she couldn't even recall his name…_

_*End of Dream*_

Kagome felt warmth on her face as the sun's rays washed over her. She groaned as she curled up into a ball, not wanting to wake up from her beautiful dream. She didn't want to open her eyes but she could hear a voice calling her name and opened them reluctantly. When Kagome finally focused on what was around her, she spotted the ball of red fur leaning over at her.

She yawned and sat up, _'Hello, Shippo,'_ she said to him as he rolled off her and began to wag his tail. She could hear the slight yelping of the three new additions from the other side of the cave and she looked over to see the tiny family of five all curled up together. Late into the night, Ayame and Koga had been arguing over the names for their pups; each one having already picked them out and wanting the other to agree.

Koga was keen on naming them things like Kiba and Tsume for the boys—meaning _fang_ and _claw_—and Hikari for his daughter—_light_.

Ayame on the other hand had other names in mind and argued about Ginta and Hakkaku for her little boys and the name of Kasumi for her girl—her _little flower_. But in the end, they were finally able to agree on three names.

For the elder son, they named him Takeshi—meaning _warrior_ whom Koga hoped he would one day become. And for the younger son they combined the names Ginta and Kiba and created Kenta… the name for _strong_. As for the girl, since they were born here in winter, they named her Yuki… for the _snow_.

Kagome smiled at the three newborns as they blindly tried to find their mother's milk and got to her feet. She left the new parents to tend to their family and Shippo followed her happily.

'_Where are we going today?' _he asked as he bounced around her feet.

'_We're going to be leaving Koga and Ayame alone today and we'll be hunting again,' _she told him.

'_And I'll be able to help?' _he asked her excitedly.

She laughed and nodded. _'As soon as we find the others and get to work. Now where are they?'_

'_Getting a drink of water,' _he told her as they all walked across the cliff tops in this frigid weather. She looked up at the bright sunlight and clear day—however this only helped to make everything feel so much colder despite the warm sun. Up this high, she could see dark clouds in the distance along the horizon.

'_It looks like we might be getting another snow storm tonight if they keep coming this way,' _she called to him as he went skipping on ahead. _'We have to hurry today. If we can't catch anything before those clouds pass over, I don't think we'll be eating tonight.'_

Shippo gave a hungry whine, but he nodded as they both soon reached the river and met up with the others. Kagome came up to Miroku and was telling him of the storm but he cut her off. _'I already know,'_ he told her. _'And I agree, we need to get food for tonight as quickly as possible.'_

'_Good luck with that,'_ Inuyasha said grumpily. He wasn't much of a morning person. _'The food up here is growing more and more scarce. I'm not sure how much longer we can keep hunting before we have to turn on Naraku's wolves.'_

'_Inuyasha,'_ Kagome said as she nudged her head against his. _'We know how hard you try, but we're just going to have to make due until we are able to go back to the forest.'_

She looked into his face—but concern suddenly entered her heart when she looked at the distant look in his eyes. What was going through his head right now? But before she was able to ask him, the look went away and he nodded.

'_Well, you heard her,'_ Sango said after she finished with her long drink. '_We separate today… six of us here…' _shelooked around at them all and said,_ 'Ok, we break into two groups of three. Me, Kohaku, and… Inuyasha why don't you come with us today?'_

He shrugged, not caring and Miroku looked at her and Shippo, _'Guess it's the three of us today.'_

'_Ok,'_ she replied and both teams turned and walked in opposite directions. Kagome put her nose to the ground and sniffed for anything that smelled of food or of Naraku. Not having lucky with either, she and Miroku kept a close watch on everything around them as Shippo—happily unaware of the potential danger—was jumping around and sniffing everything he could, trying his best to help out.

'_It's great that the pups were finally born, huh?'_ she asked Miroku as they continued through the snow.

'_Huh?'_ he asked as if he hadn't heard her_. 'Oh, yeah. It's great. And I'm sure that Ayame is especially glad of that. It couldn't have been fun for her having to lay around stuck all this time. I think that she's really looking forward to being able to leave and hunt again. As for her pups, I can tell that they're going to be some strong wolves when they grow up.'_

'_Yeah,'_ Kagome said slowly looking at his sad face_. 'Miroku?' _she asked slowly._ 'Are you ok?'_

'_Fine, why do you ask?'_ he said, but Kagome could tell that he was lying.

'_Miroku,'_ she said warningly. _'I've gotten a lot stronger since I've met you all. Don't think I can't fight. What's wrong?'_

He sighed and looked up back behind him. _'I guess I can't hide it from you, Kagome. The truth is I'm… I'm jealous,'_ he confessed.

'_Jealous?'_ Kagome repeated in confusion, _'Of what?'_

'_Of Ayame and Koga,'_ he said to her softly, as he stepped over some large stones and looked at her. _'How they finally have a family of their own and everything?'_

'_And you want that to?'_ Kagome asked him in surprise.

'_Someday,' _he admitted as his tail stopped wagging and he looked depressed. _'You know? I mean, maybe not right now… but someday.'_

Kagome thought that over for a moment before she nodded, _'Yeah… someday…'_

She thought about now… she had always wanted to marry one day to a man she loved and have children, but how can she do that when she's a wolf? Just how was she supposed to return to her former life and get all that when she was stuck like this.

She felt a terrible sadness enter her and she wanted to cry. It looks like she would never be a mother or a wife… how could she be like this?

Now completely miserable she just continued to try and find something to eat and take her mind off her depressing thoughts… but not long later she heard it. In the distance she heard the callings of the others. Listening sharply, she wondered if it was pack-song? Just singing to be doing it, not to celebrate the kill.

No, smiling, all three of them turned around and started running towards it knowing that they found dinner. She slowed down so that Shippo could keep up, but Miroku was speeding up ahead of her. Just as she was about to call to him to stop, she saw it. At that moment she spotted something move out of the corner of her eyes. Miroku went running past her, not noticing it, but she had stopped dead in her tracks to look into the shadows of a bunch of rocks.

What was that just now? She could've sworn that she saw something moving there… or had it just been a trick of the light?

'_Kagome?' _Shippo called and stopped next to her—he looked where she was and asked, _'What is it?'_

'_I thought I just… nothing,' _she said, thinking that her mind had just been playing tricks on her. But as she was about to start running again she saw what it was. Instinctively she called out, _'Shippo behind me!'_

He did what he was told and not a moment too soon. A large dark wolf came out of nowhere and attacked—missing Shippo by inches. When he missed Shippo, he spun around, looking for another attack, now foaming at the mouth. Kagome let out an angry howl in warning, Shippo cowering behind her as she did so. She growled furiously at the wolf before she muttered to Shippo, _'Shippo, go and get Inuyasha.'_

'_But Kagome!'_ he gasped, terrified as the large wolf, bigger than any other she had seen, crouched low ready to spring again.

'_Just do it!'_ she yelled and she charged forward, hoping to direct the enemy's attention onto herself. She ran forward, taking him by surprise, and leapt up to bite his neck. Howling with pain and fury, he began to toss his head around trying to get her off. She just bit down harder, tasting blood in her mouth and hung on as tightly as she could.

For the first time she heard the wolf speak furiously, _'Get off me wench!'_

'_You'll have to kill me first!'_ she thought back as he was now slamming her against a wall of boulders to get her to let go.

She could feel a terrible pain in her back as she was smacked over and over again, but she knew that if she let go now, she wouldn't stand a chance. If she could just hold on until Inuyasha got here…

But before she had a chance to finish that thought, something happened.

The first thing she noticed was she felt a second, very strong and powerful body, shove her from above. The appearance of the newcomer surprised her so much that her jaw opened and she fell backwards onto the hard stone. The second thing she was aware of was that she now heard loud hissing and furious barking now going at each other. Kagome was so dizzy that she couldn't see straight.

She tried to push herself back up, only to collapse and gasp for air. She had a nauseating lurch in her stomach as the world flooded back into her senses. She had a few moments of horrible disorientation—trying to remember who she was, where she was—before everything rapidly settled back into place and focused. She was dizzy and feeling as if she was about to be sic, but she was able to grasp what was happening.

She flipped over and rolled back to her feet. Choking and gasping until she had air in her lungs and was able to see the scene before her. Standing there over the dead body of the murderous wolf, was another large figure… but the creature standing over the dead wolf was much longer, and graceful looking than a wolf was…

'_Inuyasha?' _she called hoarsely. Her voice was edged with fear and nervousness.

The beast turned and she realized that it wasn't a wolf at all… but a cat… a very big cat with large orange eyes looking at her.

'_Hey there,'_ she said with a grin, reveling very big fangs and she stepped forward a few steps and showed off claws that were longer and sharper than any dog's. The claws of a mountain lion… _'Nice to meet you. My name's Kirara… and you weren't half bad there wolf.'_

**(I'd like to thank everyone who sent me names for the pups, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll be going back to school in just two weeks, and I hope to finish as many chapters as possible before then.)**


	20. Dark Side of the Moon

_**Chapter 19: Dark Side of the Moon**_

**(There are tons of ancient legends about the woods. Legends of the spirits of animals who protect it… it makes you wonder what happens to them once and enemy shows up dare to destroy their home.)**

Kagome gasped for air as she looked around to find a trace of Shippo, but he was gone. Kirara must've guessed what she was thinking because she said in a calm tone, '_If you're looking for your pup, he went running off for help. Most likely went to go and get his father. I have to say, he's got one tough mother.'_

It took Kagome a few minutes to realize what Kirara said and turned to look at her_. 'Oh, no… I'm not his mother.'_

'_Really?' _she asked as she stretched out lazily and lay down like how her old cat Buyo used to do whenever he was tired. _'You were willing to fight to the death to protect him. That sure looked like something a mother would do.'_

Kagome knew she would be blushing right now, but she was to shaken to do so. _'Anyway,' _she said_, 'I don't know who you are, but thank you for saving me.'_

She smiled back as she flicked her tail. _'Don't mention it. I was just up there,'_ she looked to a spot over Kagome's head and when she looked, there was a large ledge—impossible for a dog to get up there—but perfect for a cat.

'_I was looking for dinner and I heard this one,'_ she gestured her head to the large wolf that lay dead next to them, _'Growling. I looked and there he was charging you and your pup.'_

'_I already told you,'_ Kagome said at once, _'He's not my pup, but I am taking care of him.'_

Kirara smiled and Kagome knew that she didn't believe her. _'Well, whatever happened, I saw you go after this wolf here to protect the pup, but when I saw that you needed help, I decided to jump in. I hope you don't mind, I need to eat to.'_

Kagome looked at the dead wolf and shook her head. She had been forced to hunt and kill since she'd been here, but eating something like that was going too far.

'_You can have him,'_ she told Kirara honestly. Kirara got back up and went over to the kill just as Kagome asked, _'I haven't seen you before.'_

'_That's cause I live up much higher than the wolves do,' _she answered. _'It's almost impossible for you to get up those steep sides, but I can manage it. I have seen you around though. You're new with Inuyasha's pack?'_

'_You know Inuyasha?' _she asked, feeling her fear of this lion slowly fade.

'_We've met,'_ Kirara confessed. _'Though I wouldn't say that we're friends. I see your pack and Naraku's going at it all the time though. I saw you the other day when Naraku injured you. Are you alright now?'_

'_I'm fine,' _Kagome answered truthfully. She calmed down and said with as much sincerity as she could,_ 'But really… thanks for saving me.'_

Kirara smiled at her again and said, _'Like I said, don't mention it. You were just lucky that I had been up there when it happened. I don't usually go after wolves because they hardly hunt alone, but this one must've been hungry enough to disobey his pack and went off to attack the first thing he saw.'_

'_Did you know him?'_ she asked carefully.

'_Not personally,'_ Kirara answered. _'But I do know he's part of Naraku's pack. He's the glutton of them all however. I have heard some of those wolves call him Goshinki.'_

'_Goshinki?'_ Kagome replied, wincing slightly at the pain in her back where she had been rammed against the wall.

Kirara got back to her feet and bumped her head against her own. _'Is there something wrong?'_

'_I'll live,'_ she said firmly and the lion laughed.

'_Good to hear,'_ she answered before she sniffed the corpse. _'If you really don't mind…?'_

'_Please,'_ Kagome said, guessing what she wanted_. 'He's all yours.'_

'_Goodie!'_ Kirara purred. _'I kinda thought that you would've wanted the pleasure in eating him.'_

Kagome shivered. _'I rather not. Just escaping with my life is enough for me.'_

Just at that moment they heard the sound of pounding feet. They both turned to see Inuyasha, Miroku, and Sango running towards them. _'Kagome!' _Inuyasha howled in panic.

She dashed forward and met them halfway, almost being run-down by their haste to get to her.

'_What happened?' _Sango demanded.

'_I thought that you both were right behind me,' _Miroku agreed in worry. _'Suddenly, Shippo came running out of nowhere screaming that one of Naraku's wolves attacked you.'_

Kagome and Inuyasha nuzzled each other's snouts. _'I'm fine,'_ she assured him. She looked back at Kirara and said, _'Thanks to her.'_

They all looked up to see her and Sango went over to her at once.

'_It's that cat again,'_ Inuyasha said suspiciously. '_What's she doing here?'_

'_So you do know her,'_ Kagome asked at once.

'_We've talked before,'_ Inuyasha answered, his yellow eyes narrowing. _'But we have an agreement… we don't bother her, and she doesn't bother us. We really don't speak with her.'_

'_Well, she saved me,'_ Kagome told him. _'If she didn't jump in when she did, Goshinki would've…'_

'_Goshinki?'_ Inuyasha demanded and Miroku looked horrified—staring around them as if expecting Goshinki to come out and ambush them.

'_It's alright!'_ she told him quickly. _'He's dead! Kirara took care of him! Look!'_

They both just spotted the body of the wolf and Miroku went over at once to inspect it as Sango spoke with Kirara. Inuyasha looked back at her and asked, '_You sure you're alright? I knew that I should've have left you with Miroku!'_ and she was surprised to hear how angry he was.

'_I'm ok,'_ she answered and turned back to the others. Kagome stopped shaking and turned to face him, _'You don't have to say sorry it wasn't your fault.'_

He just looked at her long and hard before she went back up to Kirara and Sango who were having a polite conversation as if they were business partners in the middle of a conference. _'And that's pretty much what happened,' _Kirara told her coolly.

'_Thanks for that, Kirara,' _Sango said, her tone was filled with gratitude.

Kirara purred before she went over to the body and took it in her great jaws. With a great leap, she dragged her prey up with her and up onto the ledge she had been on. For a brief moment, she dropped it at her feet before she looked back at them and nodded her head before she turned and left.

The four of them slowly made their way back to the den after that, Miroku apologizing the whole way. _'I'm so sorry, Kagome,'_ he said over and over again. _'I thought that you were right behind me. I should've known that something was wrong when you didn't catch up to me. I mean, you can beat almost all of us when it comes to racing. But I thought that you were just keeping up with Shippo… I should've…'_

'_Miroku,' _she sighed for the hundredth time. '_Really. I'm alright. You don't have to keep apologizing. How could you have known what Goshinki was gonna do?'_

'_But still,'_ he said sadly, his tale between his legs.

They continued walking and she asked, _'Did you guys get dinner?'_

'_Yeah,'_ Inuyasha said not looking at her, his head looking straight ahead of him. _'It's another goat… or a ram I guess. It's got horns anyway and it took us no time at all to hunt him.'_

'_We then let you guys know that we got him,'_ Sango said at once. _'Just as we were heading back to the den, Miroku runs up. We thought that you guys were only going slow but…'_

Miroku whimpered sadly and Kagome rubbed her head against him. _'It's alright,' _she told him.

'_Then Shippo comes running, screaming that you were in trouble,' _Sango went on. _'We told him and Kohaku to take the food back to the den and we would take care of it. We took off, and you know what happened there.'_

Kagome nodded.

'_Just what happened?' _Miroku asked her in concern.

'_I don't know for sure,' _she answered_. 'It was all so fast. I saw something moving from the bush and when I turned to look he came charging at me. I panicked and charged at him and grabbed him by the throat. But I might've just been a flea to him, I couldn't even injure him. I told Shippo to get help and I just hung on until Kirara saved me.'_

'_Wow…' _Sango said, looking at her with new respect.

'_What?'_ Kagome asked bitterly. _'I couldn't do anything except wait for someone to save me… again.'_

'_You just don't get it do you?'_ Inuyasha asked. And it startled her to hear how angry his tone was, but before she could ask, Miroku said, _'We've fought with him before. He's incredibly fast and difficult to get hold of.'_

'_Just fangs and one giant stomach,'_ Inuyasha went on sullenly. _'He must've been running on empty for him to go after you like that.'_

'_Actually, I think that he was after Shippo,'_ Kagome said thinking back.

'_Oh, that makes much more sense,'_ Sango agreed_. 'Of course that coward would've gone after a little pup.'_

'_How is Shippo anyway?'_ Kagome asked at once. _'Is he alright?'_

'_They should be back by now,'_ she answered, suddenly concerned. _'They must all be worried sick.'_

Just at that second, in the distance, they could see the form of another large wolf bolting for them, Kagome tensed up, half expecting another attack, but it was only Koga.

'_What happened?'_ he demanded, once he got near them. _'Shippo and Kohaku both came back crying. Saying that there was an attack…'_

'_Koga,'_ Miroku said quickly. _'Goshinki's dead.'_

Koga stared at him. _'What?'_ he asked and they all went into the explanation of what happened. Once they finished he looked satisfied. _'Well, can't say that it's a tragedy. Good thing for us… less to worry about.'_

He then turned and walked away.

'_He's always hated Goshinki ever since he ambushed him once,' _Miroku whispered to her. _'Almost took his leg off. He's been wanting to get rid of him ever since.'_

And so, tired and hungry, they all went straight back to the den. When they got there, the first thing she saw was the ball of red fur all curled up in a tiny ball at the entrance.

'_Shippo?' _she called. At once, the pup looked up and looked round wildly. When he spotted her, he cried out tearfully,_ 'KAGOME!'_

He then ran at her so hard and fast that when he reached her, he knocked her clean off her feet.

'_Kagome!'_ he cried out tearfully and rubbing his face against her fur as if he thought he'd never see her again… then again, there was a very good chance that she might not have made it out alive. She rubbed her snout into his red fur and said to her_, 'It's alright… I'm just fine Shippo.'_

'_I thought that wolf was going to eat you!'_ he cried refusing to let go. _'I thought that he was gonna…'_

He couldn't go on because the tears just continued to fall. Kagome picked him back up and carried him back into the cave tiredly where Kohaku, Ayame, and the pups all were.

'_Kagome?'_ Ayame asked at once. _'Are you…?'_

'_Fine,'_ she answered tiredly, hoping that they'd stop asking that. She looked over to Inuyasha, who was still ignoring her. She couldn't understand why he was acting like that. But she didn't get a chance to ask him as dinner started up. After all of them finished filling their bellies, it had gotten dark and the storm that she saw coming had indeed come. They all decided to just huddle up and try to stay warm this night and soon they were all asleep—listening to the snowstorm raging outside.

*Later that night*

Kagome's eyes suddenly opened in the middle of the night… it had to had been very late because it was almost pitch black in the cave. She moved slightly and her paws found a tiny figure still huddled next to her. She smiled as she looked down at the little red ball of fur… Shippo had become so clingy, that he hadn't let go of her once since she got back to the den. But she just kept assuring him and let him stay with her—secretly glad at how much he depended on her and wanted her to be safe.

She looked down at him, saw his fluffy tail thumping the ground and his tongue was lolling out while one of his ears was perked up. Fighting the urge to laugh she looked around her, wondering what had caused her to wake up… though that was answered almost at once when she suddenly felt the breeze of something cold on her sore back and realized that this was what had dragged her reluctantly from her sleep.

She then noticed that there was someone missing from their warm dog pile. Curious, she decided to get up and went to go and check out what was going on. All of them curled up, mostly around Ayame and her pups before they went to sleep that night, so it took her a long time before she was able to pull herself away from the tangled mass of legs, tails, and fur and left to go and find their fearless leader.

The storm had mostly stopped by now, but it was still snowing when she got outside. The world was covered in a blanket of white and against the darkness of the sky, made everything look like something out of a story book.

And there was Inuyasha sitting there with his back to her, staring out at the sleeping forest below them; the snow falling around him in a gentle flurry.

'_Inuyasha?'_ she asked him. He looked back to see her before he turned back to gaze at the forest. For a moment he didn't say anything.

'_What?'_ he asked, and Kagome could feel herself getting angry at how cold he was acting to her all of a sudden. She marched over to him and demanded, _'What?! That's all you can say? What is with you?'_

'_Dunno what you're talking about,'_ he said sourly.

'_Why are you suddenly acting like this?'_ she demanded. _'You and I always got along fine up until now. So why are you acting so rude all of a sudden?'_

He turned to look at her. _'Look, I don't need to explain to you what's going on if you can't even figure it out yourself. Get back inside where you belong.'_

She glared at him and turned until she was now standing in front him, of course he turned his head away from her as if he didn't want to look at her. Finally, she lost it, and pounced. He didn't see it coming and thus didn't have a chance to defend himself. She had jumped up on him and had him pinned beneath her faster than blinking.

He stared up at her as she stared back. _'What's your deal?!'_ she demanded, trying not to show him how upset she was. _'Why are you like this now? Just what happened with you?'_

He glared back and suddenly he was on top of her and had her pinned this time. _'Nothing's wrong ok?' _he snarled at her, hot teeth in her face._ 'Now just get back in there alright? Just leave me alone!'_

And just like that, he turned and left as if she wasn't worth his time. She just stared after him—wondering what was going on with their leader… not understanding why she felt as if her heart was being torn in half.

**(What's with Inuyasha all of a sudden? Hopefully we find out soon!)**


	21. Determined Friends

_**Chapter 20: Determined Friends**_

**(Even the best of friends fight. But mostly it's because they don't get along **_**because**_** they're so different from each other. But when you're really in trouble and your back's against the wall you've got to have someone to rely on. And it may be the one person that you least expect.)**

Kagome glared at Inuyasha as he continued walking away from her.

'_I'm going,'_ he growled back at her. _'And don't you dare follow me! Go back in the den where you belong!'_

And without another word, he took off into the darkness. Kagome was so angry that she wanted nothing more than to run after him and to rip out his throat. She looked around her furiously, now where was that idiot going? She wasn't going to let him go without giving her a real answer here. She began walking in the same direction that he disappeared off to… all the while, going through her mind to what was happening here.

Inuyasha woke up this morning, treating her no differently than normal, and even when they went out to hunt, he still was his usual self. Sure he was annoying and cranky, but that's how he always was. But after she was ambushed by that wolf, Goshinki… and then saved by Kirara… he suddenly started treating her like she's the enemy!

So what happened here? Determined to get some real answers she picked up the pace, determined to find out what he was so angry about.

She could hear the howls of Naraku's pack but they were a far way off—hopefully she wouldn't have to worry about them. Almost getting killed once by one of those wolves was enough for her for one day. She continued to run off alone into the night… scared, but determined nonetheless. Suddenly, the shadow of wings came flying over above, and she had turned her head to see that it had only been a hawk soaring overhead, obviously trying to find a place to rest for the night.

But still no sign of that silver wolf… there wasn't anything she could do but run. The storm was coming—she could feel it rather than see it through this darkness. But the temperature was quickly dropping and the sky clouded over, blocking out the stars. If she didn't find Inuyasha soon, she would have to return without him. The last thing she wanted was to be stuck out here all night, in the middle of a blizzard, with no shelter.

She used her paws to climb over the rougher parts of the boulders and rocks; and kept going up higher and higher—not sure to why she was putting herself through all this. Finally, after the snow started to fall, and the wind was beginning to blow, she decided that if she couldn't find him in just five minutes, she would go back and forget this whole thing. But no sooner had she thought that when she suddenly heard a terrible snarling sound ahead of her…

She stopped dead, listening with all her might. That was Inuyasha's growl—she was sure of it—and judging from the tone, he sounded angry.

Concerned, she leapt down a small mound of rocks and cautiously walked forward. There was a large clearing passed a tower of stones. She hadn't been this far up before, and was growing scared that she wouldn't be able to get back on her own when she heard it again. Snarling, yelping, scratching, and howling… howls of pain.

She stepped forward and carefully looked past the pillar to see what was happening. What she saw made her freeze with terror. There was a large clearing, surrounded by all sides by stone walls… with the ground littered with bones.

Whole skeletons—picked clean—covered the ground. Mounds of them piled up around the clearing so that only the center was cleared… and standing there was another pack of wolves. At least seven fully grown wolves… all different colors, with their eyes glowing an iridescent yellow and their pearl white fangs glittered maliciously. All of them the size of fully-grown Rottweiler's…

But what scared her the most was that Inuyasha was there as well. The silver wolf was walking in a wide circle, with another wolf doing the same, their fangs barred, neither one taking their eyes off the other. Around them was circle of wolves there as well… she recognized some of them at once such as the pale Kanna, the untamed Kagura, and the demonic Naraku.

And it was Naraku that Inuyasha was pacing… it looked almost like a cage match with the fighters in the center, the crowd around them—hungry for blood.

This was crazy! What was he doing here? He could get killed!

'_It was foolish to come here without someone to back you up,'_ Naraku purred darkly, his mouth open as he showed off his teeth. _'You must have gotten over-confident now that Goshinki is dead. Well, in case you forgotten, that useless wolf was nothing more than a living stomach. He ate more than the rest of us combined. To be honest, we were thinking about eating him ourselves if things got worse.'_

'_Oh, I know what I'm doing,'_ Inuyasha snarled back. _'I just want to finish this on my own.'_

The other wolves just howled and jeered at him, some of them taking little swipes at him, or nips at his tail. Naraku chuckled. _'Really? If memory serves me correctly, you couldn't fight me without the rest of your pack to back you up.'_

'_Yeah?'_ Inuyasha asked. _'Well, if you're so confident that I can't take you on then why do you always have your pathetic flunkies there to do the dirty work?'_

Kagome nodded fiercely. _'You tell 'em, Inuyasha!'_ she thought. The other wolves didn't think so however, and they all began growling furiously at him, some of them actually taking a few steps forward.

'_Oh, why waste my energy?'_ Naraku asked lightly. _'But why don't you and the rest of your weak pack get out of our territory? We had an agreement! You get that forest, that brother of yours gets the valley on the other side of this mountain, while we claim these cliffs!'_

'_I told you!'_ Inuyasha snarled_. 'We have no choice! The humans are there ready to hunt! They already killed two of my pack!'_

Kagome flinched horribly at the memory of Shippo's parents.

'_Well, that's too bad,'_ Naraku sneered.

'_Oh, don't play like that with me,'_ Inuyasha growled back. _'You're pack is hardly innocent. I see you all sneaking down into our forest all the time hunting! If anything, you broke the agreement first!'_

'_You're point?'_ Naraku grinned. _'But I have to say, you are either very brave, or very stupid for just coming right up into our den like this. Personally, I go with option number 2. Now, why are you here?'_

The two of them continued to pace each other, and Kagome felt that she was about to be sick with fear. Yes, why was Inuyasha here?

'_You know why I'm here,'_ he growled back. '_My pack has had to live in fear of you and had to fight for their lives with your…' he looked around at the surrounding wolves, 'Beasts for years! But I'm here to warn you… you keep away from the rest of my pack or I will kill each of you!'_

Kagome's eyes widened. That was why he was here? To risk his life to try and protect them all?

Naraku began to laugh. It was a loud howl, echoing off the tall, surrounding walls and by the others. It sounded almost like thunder to her as the laughing continued, the wind and snow blowing harder, wiping their fur around.

Inuyasha didn't move from where he stood, continuing to glare. Finally, Naraku stopped and looked down at him. _'Now I see… you're here to beg us to leave your wolves alone is that right?'_

'_I'd never beg,'_ he growled back menacingly. _'I'm only here to give you all a warning. If you come anywhere near them then you won't live past the cold.'_

The others slowly started to close the circle around them, all of them growling in a threatening way. Kagome's heart began to beat a little bit faster as she watched them. She wanted to scream for Inuyasha to stop being an idiot and run away. But she couldn't move if her life depended on it; she just kept watching and waiting, wondering how on earth that idiot would get himself out of this.

The two wolves were speaking again and she felt a shiver of fear going down her spine at what Naraku said. _'I have to say, I'm impressed with that new female of yours, Inuyasha. She's more wild than any other wolf I've ever seen before. Surly even you must've noticed.'_

'_Yeah, so what?'_ he barked back.

Naraku tilted his head. _'I see now why she has gotten your attention. To be honest, she's caught mine as well.'_

Kagome began to back up, not liking how he said that. Nor apparently did Inuyasha.

'_You leave her alone! You hear me?!'_ he barked furiously.

Naraku chuckled darkly. What he said next, she didn't catch for he spoke to softly for even her super hearing to pick up. But whatever he said caused Inuyasha to lose it completely. He charged forward, aiming straight for Naraku's throat.

'_Sick'm,'_ he said.

And all at once, all the wolves attacked. Each one had grabbed a hold of Inuyasha, piling on top of him—all of them snarling and biting. Unable to take it anymore, she charged forward and jumped in on the fray.

She landed on top of one of the smaller ones—a male that stunk of blood and bit down hard. He howled in pain, trying to throw her off, but his scream was what caused them all to look up.

'_Kagome!'_ Inuyasha howled when he saw who it was. The other wolves turned to look at her, giving him his only chance. With all of his strength, he reared back and shook them off. Knowing that they would both be killed if they stayed any longer, Kagome let go and screamed at him, _'Run!'_

Freeing himself, the two of them bolted, heading for the only way out. _'WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?'_ he screamed at her.

While her blood continued to pump adrenaline throughout her body, she was still able to tell him off. _'What do you think you idiot?'_ she yelled back at him. _'You were acting like a real jerk and I wanted to know what was going on with you! When I finally found you, you were being attacked! What was I supposed to do? And what were you thinking coming here all on your own?! At least take the rest of us if you were going to do something so stupid!'_

He began to curse her out, but that was before several pairs of eye appeared in front of them. They both skidded to a stop to see the eyes surrounding them, blocking the path.

She saw the little wolf that she attacked came forward, his back was bleeding where she had bit him and felt a surge of smug pride going through her. _'You stupid wench. You think you can out run us? Do you honestly think you can fight us off? This is our home territory!'_

'_Oh, shut it Hakudoshi!'_ Inuyasha snarled back at her.

She then heard Naraku laughed heartily and was accompanied by mocking howls. While he was finishing off his fit of laughter the other eyes started moving and they then took shape as the rest of his pack appeared.

Kagome wanted to faint right then and there but her body was stiff with fright. On his face sat a satisfied smirk that did it. Like Inuyasha had done, she charged forward and attacked. Clearly not seeing it coming he didn't have time to react as she bit into his throat. She was being tossed around as easily as Goshinki had done to her earlier. She could hear him howling… whether it was from pain or fury she wasn't sure…

Suddenly she felt a familiar figure behind her and grabbed her by the back of her neck and pulled. Inuyasha had pulled her off and the two of them bolted again. _'You really are insane!' _he yelled at her as Naraku made the sounds of a screeching howl that hurt her ears.

'_I couldn't help it!'_ she shouted back. No knowing where they were going, they continued to run—left, right, under, over… it went on and on until the angry howls faded away behind them.

Maybe they had lost them, but Kagome suspected that it was because of the weather. The wind was now blowing so hard that she couldn't see more than a foot in front of her as the heavy snow and hail came tumbling down. Her paws ached as the ice and snow dug into her sensitive paws, and her lungs burned with the effort of breathing.

Inuyasha grabbed her by the neck again and told her, _'We have to get out of this storm! There's a cave not far from here! We can rest there until it stops.'_

Kagome didn't answer—merely closing her eyes to keep them from freezing as she allowed him to steer her to the far left, wondering how long it would take, and wishing that she was at home taking a hot bath before getting into a warm bed as she listened to her family getting ready for bed. All at once, the storm stopped and she opened her eyes to see that they were in a very narrow cave with a low ceiling.

'_Right,'_ Inuyasha grunted as he let go of her fur, _'Well, this should do until the storm's over and…'_ he didn't finish for Kagome saw that he was bleeding and he stumbled.

'_Oh, Inuyasha,'_ she gasped. She ran forward and supported his weight until he was able to lie down. _'You're hurt,'_ she whispered. She looked all over his body to see his beautiful silver fur was streaked with red blood.

Panicking, she began to lick the injuries, like she had done the day they met, ignoring the metallic taste of blood. He winced, but didn't complain as he also began to lick to a bad bite on his front leg.

'_What were you thinking?'_ he demanded her. _'Following me like that? You were lucky you weren't killed!'_

'_Well, excuse me for being worried!'_ she told him darkly. She lay down next to him trying to share her body warmth. The cave was so small, that it only went a few feet in so he was able to sit comfortably against the back wall with her lying in front of him—shielding him from the storm at the entrance. They both looked at the opening and saw that the storm outside was fierce—so wild that they were unable to see out.

'_Looks like we may be here for awhile,'_ she sighed, nuzzling her head against his side. Through the noise, she could hear the howling from Naraku's pack and she shifted closer to him. He nudged her head and said, _'It's alright. Not even Naraku and his idiots would bother to track us through all this.'_

Snarls, growls, and barks started echoing around them, but she knew that they weren't near them. She turned to Inuyasha and asked, _'So… just what were you up to earlier?'_

He froze as he looked at her. _'I was just angry,'_ he confessed.

'_Well, yeah,'_ Kagome barked. _'And sure, I've been angry before, but never did I think about going out and risking my life like that! What were you thinking going to see Naraku all by yourself like that? You would've been killed by now if they had their way!'_

'_Keh,'_ he grunted, looking away from her. _'I would've found my way out of it sooner or later.'_

Kagome started growing angry again. _'You jerk! You scared me half to death! You were outnumbered! Not even you could've gotten out of that mess on your own!'_

'_I could've if you didn't jump in!'_ he barked back. If she still had human hands, she would punched his lights out for saying something like that. Instead she settled for swatting her paw at his head. _'Don't ever scare me like that again!'_ she yelled at him, furious at how miserable she was suddenly feeling.

That was something he only just noticed as well.

'_What are you blubbering for?'_ he demanded. _'I'm alive aren't I?'_

'_That's not the point!'_ she yelled.

'_Ok, then what is?!'_ he barked back at her and Kagome buried her face in his side, surprising them both.

'_I was scared…'_ she muttered softly, not knowing if she was talking to Inuyasha or herself. _'I thought that you were going to die… you have to promise me that you won't do something like that again.'_

The two of them stayed quiet for a long time, just listening to the sound of the howling wind outside, just trying to huddle as close as possible for warmth. Finally, Inuyasha lowered his head and nuzzled hers with his long snout. _'I won't…'_ he said so softly, that she almost didn't recognize his voice.

'_You promise?'_ she asked, suddenly feeling warm again as her eyelids began to close.

'_I promise…'_

And with those words, the two of them were fast asleep.

**(Aww… isn't that sweet? The two of them are getting closer! Hope you really liked this chapter!)**


	22. Strength and Kindness

_**Chapter 20: Strength and Kindness**_

**(There are people out there that are a little different. They don't go along with what's normal. People don't like things that aren't like them, it makes them uncomfortable. But that's the way these guys like it. That is… until they get into trouble and they have nowhere to turn.)**

Kagome's eyes opened hazily, only to realize that her eyelids had been covered with snow. She raised her head and shook her head hard to knock the flurries out of her vision before she looked around the tiny cave that she was sharing with Inuyasha. He was still sleeping next to her; his warm body was helping to keep hers warm and vice-versa. In fact, she could've sworn that she felt her heart warm up as she rubbed her head against his for a moment before she painfully got to her feet—her legs so cold that she was almost numb.

She cautiously sniffed the air, though not smelling any other wolves—only fresh air and the bright light from the sun.

So she very slowly made her way to the entrance and looked out. The whole world was covered in white from the thick and heavy covering of snow. The sky was a clear blue with barely a cloud as the sun shone. However even the light didn't make anything warmer—if anything, it only made her feel colder.

As she walked through the deep snow, that was already up pass her knees, she knew that Shippo must be worried. She went back into the cave to see how Inuyasha was doing.

He had already come to and was looking around her.

'_Oh, hey,'_ he said tiredly, tilting his head slightly as if he had been drunk the night before and was waking to a nasty hangover. _'Why is the sun so bright?'_

She rubbed her head against his again and told him, _'It's morning. You know we should head back. The others are probably wondering where we are by now.'_

He sighed as he got back onto his shaky feet. He had stopped bleeding, and shook his head as cocky as he always did. Kagome shook her head as they both cautiously ventured out of the cave. And soon the two of them were making their way back to the den where the rest of the pack was.

'_Inuyasha?'_ she asked cautiously. _'What are we going to do?'_

He didn't need to ask her what she meant, but she still asked, '_I mean… about Naraku…'_

'_I'll take care of it,'_ he told her. She rolled her eyes. _'You mean like how you did last night?'_

He glowered at her as he took a few paces ahead and she had to jump a few steps to catch up.

'_Hey!'_ she told him coldly. _'Don't blame me for what happened!'_

'_I could've handled it,'_ he said stubbornly.

She shook her head. _'I don't know why I put up with you,'_ she told him irritated.

He turned back to her and demanded, _'What's that supposed to mean?'_

'_Oh, look!'_ she called, looking up at the sky in an effort to distract him. _'What are those?!'_

It worked, he looked up, but of course there wasn't anything there. She laughed as she ran on ahead, she could hear him growling behind her. But he wasn't as fast as he normally was due to his injuries so he wasn't able to catch her; but he was still able to put up a good race back to the den. When they got there, they could see Miroku pacing back and forth around the entrance in worry. As he heard them coming he ran to greet them.

'_Inuyasha!'_ he called. _'Kagome! Where on earth were you both last night?'_

'_Nowhere,'_ Kagome lied as they came to a stop in front of him.

'_Did you hear it?'_ he asked at once. _'I could hear Naraku's pack going crazy, they were howling and calling for a fight. They were practically screaming for blood. We had thought that they came after you both and…'_ that was when he noticed that Inuyasha's beautiful silver fur was still matted with dried blood.

'_Inuyasha,'_ he groaned, _'You didn't try to fight them did you?'_

'_Keh,'_ he snorted as he walked past him. _'Don't know why you would think that.'_

'_Inuyasha!'_ he called, but the head wolf turned away without a second look.

Miroku shook his head. _'Damn it… just because he's not full wolf, he thinks that he can do whatever he wants.'_

'_Wait, what?'_ Kagome asked him startled. _'What do you mean he's not full wolf?'_

He turned to her in surprise. _'You mean you don't know? Inuyasha's only half wolf. He doesn't like to talk about it, but the truth is one of his parents was a wolf, but the other was a dog. I don't know all the details, but that's the basic story.'_

Kagome looked at the dark mouth of the cave_. 'I had no idea. He always seemed so much more… wild…'_

'_That's because he __**is**__ wild,'_ Miroku sighed as he looked at her._ 'And you're one to talk about wild.'_

'_What?'_ she asked, wondering what on earth he meant.

'_Nothing,'_ he said shaking his head. _'But look, none of that is important now. Maybe you can tell me what happened?'_

She hesitated for a moment before she asked cautiously, _'Promise not to tell the others?'_

He nodded and she quickly told him what happened last night. Everything from following Inuyasha, to when they escaped and were forced to hide in some random cave until it was all over. _'Honestly,'_ she said as she finished with a huff. _'I don't know what he was thinking going in there all alone last night! He would've gotten killed.'_

'_But you attacked, Naraku…'_ Miroku croaked in awe. He hadn't said a word the whole time, but now he was sounding like he never heard anything like this before in his life. '_None of us had been able to get a bite out of him except for Inuyasha. Maybe we should consider you being in charge.'_

She blushed and was about to tell him off when she heard sobbing. She looked up to see Shippo running out to greet her. _'K-Kagome!'_ he cried and almost tackled her again. _'Why do you keep going away on me like that?'_

Her anger had faded as she rubbed her face lovingly against his and even took a little nip at his ear. _'I'm alright,'_ she told him truthfully. _'I just needed to make sure that Inuyasha was being kept in line?'_

Shippo blinked in confusion before he led them back inside, asking over and over again what she meant. But as she and Miroku trailed behind he told her softly, _'Inuyasha always means well, but he also has a tendency to get us into trouble just as many times. You need to be careful. Because I have a bad feeling that one day he's going to get us into so much trouble that we might not be able to get out of it.'_

Kagome only nodded, but she also had a feeling that it was far too late for that.

*Two weeks later*

Things had been surprisingly quiet for the next two weeks but the three pups were growing fast. Their eyes were open and were already stumbling around on their tiny legs, trying to get around. The eldest pup Takeshi was very curious and sniffed around, trying to get a glimpse of everything in the den, and more than once, he tried to sneak out through the entrance. It was clear that he was going to be just like his father when he got older—something that they all groaned about.

As for Kenta—he was much more laid back. In fact, he reminded her of a great deal of Sota—just the thought of her baby brother made her heart ache—he was much happier being a bit of a momma's boy and stuck close to her most of the time. As for their one daughter, Yuki was very sweet and loving… and absolutely adoring the attention they gave her as she walked around, wanting to play.

Kagome had practically fallen in love with Yuki and Shippo had become something of a big brother for her. _'Ok,'_ he told her as he got down low next to her. _'You creep along like this,' _he instructed and he showed her how to move. Once he got close enough to his 'prey' he cried out,_ 'And then you jump like this!'_

And just like that he dove on top of a dozing Inuyasha. As he wrestled around on top of him, Yuki watched with polite puzzlement until…

'_Would you get off?!'_ Inuyasha barked and sent Shippo flying. _'You're almost full grown! You think you would act like it.'_

Kagome shook her head fondly as she nuzzled her nose against Yuki's and told her, _'Don't worry. You'll get used to this very soon.'_

Yuki let out a little yep and began teetering back and forth to her mother, clearly hungry for milk. Kagome watched her as she went to Shippo who was shaking out his red fur. Inuyasha was right… Shippo had clearly grown up a great deal since the day she met him. He was now so large that she couldn't pick him up in her mouth anymore and his thick coat had grown in nicely.

Though still much smaller than the rest of them, he was still considered a pup… and he still considered her mother.

'_Mom!'_ he called to her as she looked up at him.

'_I'm coming!'_ she answered. She would never forget what he asked her the night after she and Inuyasha returned. When they were all starting to fall asleep, he curled up next to her as he always did and asked her softly, _'Kagome… can I call you mother?'_

At first, she had been so startled that she was sure she heard wrong. Her? A mother? She was about to say no when she saw the hopeful look shining in his eyes and she stopped. He was just a pup… he needed someone to take care of him until he was able to look out for himself didn't he? So, ignoring her better judgment, she put her nose against his and said alright. While she did feel bad considering her family's part in his parent's deaths… the image Amaya's paw sticking out from the tarp, and when Kitsue had died filled her mind and she felt her heart bleed. But she did her best to try and make it up to them by raising their son.

She walked out to see one of the few sunny days they had in weeks with Shippo by her side like always. Kagome had long since lost track of how much time it had been since she became a wolf; all she knew was that it had been a few months since then and that it had been awhile since they seen or heard from Naraku's pack. Kagome prayed that it would stay that way until they returned to the forest in the spring… something she was looking forward to. She was tired of these cliffs and missed the feeling of soft ground under her feet.

She sighed as she looked over the ledge to the winter-covered trees below. Listen to her… she hardly sounded like herself anymore… with every passing day, memories of her human life were slowly fading away. She missed her family and her old life so much that it hurt…

Her family probably thought that she was long dead by now… perhaps they thought that the wolf they saw that day in the house that day probably ate their daughter. She wondered how they were doing…

Shippo leaned his head over so that she couldn't miss it and asked, _'Mom? Is something wrong?'_

Kagome shook her head. _'Nothing, Shippo,'_ she reassured him. _'I'm just thinking about a lot of things.'_

'_Like what?'_ he questioned happily taking a playful bite at her ear. She moved her head back so he missed.

'_Shippo,'_ she scolded, slightly irritated. _'You aren't a pup anymore. And Inuyasha's right, that is starting to get old.'_

He put his head down before he asked, _'If I'm not a pup anymore then why can't I go hunting with you guys?'_

Kagome sighed. She had secretly told Miroku, and later Sango, the truth about Inuyasha's stupidity, and ever since, they had been expecting some kind of attack to happen. Thankfully, it has been unusually quiet.

Though according to the others it has been **too** quiet… they didn't trust it at all. Kagome nudged her nose against Shippo's side once more head and said, _'I know it's hard,'_ she told him truthfully. _'But we have to be patient. Once the humans leave, we can go back to the wood…'_

And here was more proof that she wasn't herself. When did she start referring to them as 'the humans' even in her own mind? Was she even human anymore? Well, no… that much was obvious as she flicked her tail around… but was she still human **inside**? Every single day she spent out here running her feet raw on the hard stone and deep snow, struggling to get enough food to fill her stomach… which was becoming harder since the pups would soon stop drinking their mother's milk…

But still… was it possible that she was starting to enjoy this new life? Could she actually be happy here? Shippo was now looking at her questionably and she quickly asked, _'So what are we going to do today?'_

At the change of subject, he immediately asked if he could go hunting with them all this time but Miroku had come from behind them.

'_Not now,'_ he said and they turned to see him coming towards them. Shippo pouted and demanded when he could. _'Once the snow is gone with the humans we'll go back to the wood and you can hunt with us there,' _he answered simply.

Though when Shippo continued to look upset but Kagome asked, _'Besides, we need you here to protect Koga's and Ayame's pups. Who else could we trust with something as important as this?'_

At the cooing in her tone, Shippo's ears perked up slightly and went running off to see how the pups were doing. Kagome laughed at his playful energy and she began to follow… when Miroku stood in front of her, stopping her. _'I hate keeping him trapped here, but with what happened after that meeting with you and Inuyasha with Naraku's pack, I don't want to take any chances. He's still young and doesn't know how to fight.'_

'_I know,'_ Kagome sighed as lowered her tired head. _'And I know I've asked this before, but is it really too much to hope that they just gave up and won't come after us again?'_

He gave her a look that clearly said that he thought she was naïve and answered, _'We both know the answer to that. It's some kind of plan I know Naraku… probably trying to get us to drop our guard, but I have to admit that taking this long is not like him. You know, sometimes I think that it just might be safer if we go back to the woods now and take our chances with the hunters.'_

Kagome stared at him long and hard, knowing what he was about to say. 'But I don't want to risk it…'

She looked up at the overclouded sky. They still had weeks to go before winter was over… they would still be here for a while…

'_Oh,'_ Miroku said suddenly as if he just remembered something. _'I also wanted to tell you something… Koga and Ayame have been talking about leaving.'_

She looked up at him, though not completely surprised to hear the news. She had learned that once a pack has to many pack members, some would leave and become leaders of their own packs. Their own pack was becoming very large and it was becoming very hard to feed everyone.

'_But they say that they want to stay until something is done about Naraku,'_ he said sitting back on his hind legs. _'I have to say though, it would be a good chance for them. Sure they'll have to wait a little longer… their pups are still young, but once they're just a little older, they're sure to leave and start their own pack.'_

'_And what about you?' _she asked him. _'Are you tempted to do the same?'_

Miroku thought that over for a moment_. 'No… I want to stay here… it is my home after all… but I do want to start a family of my own someday…' _he got a dreamy look in his eyes.

Kagome laughed. _'And I'm assuming that you're thinking of Sango?'_

He froze at the mention of the female wolf, but he didn't deny anything. _'Yes,' _he admitted._ 'But strangely, every time I ask her to bear my pups, she says no!'_

Kagome shook her head exasperated and suggested, _'Maybe you should start off by telling her how you feel?'_

'_But I do!'_ he cried, still not getting what she meant. _'I want her to have my pups someday.'_

Kagome felt the need to hit him, but it was hard to do that with paws. She rolled her eyes… men… no matter what species they were, they were all idiots.

Just at that moment, Inuyasha emerged from the den, barking that it was time to get some more food. _'I swear!' _he cried angrily. _'All we've been eating are mice! If I ever see another mouse, then I'm going to lose my mind.'_

'_You mean you have one?' _Kagome asked as she flicked her tail in his face in a teasingly way. He took a snap at her, and she laughed, knowing that he always cranky when hungry.

'_Alright,' _she said teasingly. _'I'll get Sango and we'll go looking for something to eat. Maybe if we're lucky we can find some random deer…'_

But as she went into the cave, Inuyasha kept staring after her. When Miroku noticed he sniggered as he bumped up into him. _'So… you like her don't you?'_

This time it had been Inuyasha who froze and took a snap at him. _'Mind your own business!'_

Miroku laughed as he almost danced out of reach.

'_Is something funny?' _called Sango's voice. They looked up to see the two girls coming out of the cave.

'_You know,' _Sango said walking towards them, staring from one to the other, _'I don't think having pups was best for someone like Ayame. She's going crazy resting in there. She wants to go out with the rest of us, but she can't leave them for too long until they're off of milk.'_

'_She'll be back and hunting soon enough,' _Miroku reassured her. _'We just have keep pulling double duty until then.'_

Both of the males watched as the females went running off ahead of them and Miroku sighed as he started behind them. _'Oh, why is it that everyone seems to get a mate but us?'_

Inuyasha grumbled behind him, but it sounded suspiciously like,_ 'I couldn't agree with you more.'_

**(Done! Again, I apologize for the long wait, but school isn't easy. I do hope that you all enjoyed the chapter though!)**


	23. The Ultimate Game

_**Chapter 20: The Ultimate Game **_

**(Winning isn't always such a great thing believe it or not. When you get so obsessed with it that you don't see what the real game is. Imagine a game you love to play, a game you're so good at you never lose. But then imagine if winning this game really meant losing. Rules turned upside down. Where winning means losing. And losing is getting the chance to keep playing until you finally win. Or lose it all.)**

Another two weeks had passed and still nothing strange seemed to be happening. It was as if Naraku just disappeared off the face of the earth—and while Kagome preferred this, it still made her feel uneasy. The winter dragged on, and she guessed that they still had at least another month left of snow before this terrible weather was over and they'd be able to leave this dreadful mountain. Kagome missed the soft feeling of dirt on her paws… and running through the trees…

And there she goes again. Why was it becoming so difficult to remember she hadn't always been a wolf?

As for the others, Kohaku was full grown and allowed to go on hunting trips all the time instead of being forced to sit at the den day after day. As for Shippo, he was almost an adult as well—but the way he acted made you think otherwise—it was as if he still thought that he was a pup. As for the three pups, they have all grown a great deal over the last few weeks. Now that they were older and starting to eat meat, Ayame was finally able to go out and hunt again without having to be near the pups all the time. But they were now starting to talk and were exploring life outside the cave.

Kagome spent most of the time outside their home watching them, who started calling her _auntie_. She laughed as she allowed them to climb over her and bat at her tail like how Shippo used to do. Speaking of Shippo…

'_Mom?'_ Shippo's voice called, and she looked up to see him coming out of the den. He bounded forward and stopped in front of her. _'Is it true that I can go hunting with the others again?'_

'_Yes, Shippo,'_ she told them as Kenta was on her back and trying to keep his balance. _'Starting tomorrow. But today, we're all stuck watching the monster trio.'_

The 'Monster Trio' was what they'd been taking to calling the three troublesome pups. Yuki and her brothers were constantly on the move and getting into all kinds of trouble. As she played with the sweet Yuki, Shippo wrestled with the boys.

But just as things were looking like any other day—it changed in the blink of an eye. Just at that moment, they heard it. Howling… she stopped playing and looked up at once in panic. She knew that howl—it was a warning. What happened to the rest of them when they went out hunting?

'_Mom?'_ Shippo said looking up as well—an anxious look to his tone.

'_Stay calm,'_ she told him at once as the pups stopped playing and looked to them—wondering what was going on. _'Don't answer yet. Wait…'_

Though she longed to run out and find Inuyasha, she knew that it would be unwise to leave all of them on their own. Just then, a small figure of a dark wolf was running up to her.

'_Kohaku?'_ she cried and raced out to greet him.

'_We've got to go!'_ he panted once he was near her.

'_Why? What happened?'_ she demanded, licking his muzzle in worry. He seemed to be unhurt, so what was going on?

'_Naraku!'_ he panted, looking back with a whimper. _'He'd been quiet all this time… I was wondering why that was, but as we were hunting another goat, he launched an attack! They came from out of nowhere! But the worst part is that he knows where we are! He's coming here! We've got to go!'_

'_But the pups…'_ Kagome gasped.

'_That's why we have to go!' _he cried._ 'We can't stay here anymore! Miroku told us that we have to get off the mountain and back to the forest!'_

'_Now?' _she demanded. She knew that it was risky. While the weather was terrible, there was no guarantee that the hunters were gone. And even if they were, she was willing to bet that there were still traps set for them.

Kagome hesitated. She hadn't seen any humans since the day she climbed up here with the others… and she had no idea if hunting season was over yet. But… she looked to Kohaku. It was dangerous, but if what he said was true, then what choice did they have?

'_Alright!'_ she said, taking charge at once._ 'Grab a pup and follow me!'_

She ran back to the other four who were looking at her with scared eyes.

'_Auntie?'_ Yuki's sweet voice asked before Kagome picked her up in her teeth. _'I'm afraid we can't talk right now, Yuki! We've got to go!'_

She looked back to the boys. _'Each of you grab one and let's get out of here.'_

Shippo blinked in worry before he also picked up Kenta by the scruff of his neck—though did it uncomfortably, having never done this before. Which left Kohaku to pick up Takeshi—which caused the little pup to squirm wildly. She led the way away from the den, having to run much slower than normal for the boys to keep up with her until they reached the edge of the cliff. _'Now,'_ she said firmly. _'Just do what I do.'_

It had been a long time since she had first climbed up here. But she wasn't the same person… she discovered that she was also a beast as well. And so, she slowly and carefully made her way down the side of the mountain. And not a moment too soon…

She could hear the howling rage of the wolves behind them and knew that Naraku must've found the den by now. Snarls, growls, and barks started echoing around above them. But they couldn't stop. She kept going, not daring to glance back. It wouldn't take long for them to pick up their scent…

She was still in charge of this group, and knew that all she could do was trust Inuyasha with the others to take care of themselves. Yuki started to whimper, not liking being held over such a great height. _'Please, Yuki,'_ Kagome begged as they continued making their way back down. _'We'll be on the ground soon. Try to be patient.'_

It was like a vertical nightmare to her. She kept expecting one of her paws to slip and they would fall to their doom. But finally, they made it to the bottom and her paws touched down on ground for the first time in months—though she couldn't feel it through all the thick snow.

She then dropped Yuki, who disappeared into the snow as she turned to look at the other boys, who were still about halfway up.

'_You can do it!'_ she called to them. _'If I can do it, then you can to!'_

She kept encouraging them until they landed next to her. The pups were crying, not having the slightest clue to what was going on, but they couldn't stop here.

'_Auntie!'_ Yuki cried as Takeshi looked around them, and becoming uncharacteristically timid as Kenta was now hiding between her legs, shaking.

She nuzzled Yuki's snout with her own and said soothingly, _'It'll be alright. We aren't going to let anything happen to you. But we couldn't stay at the den anymore.'_

'_But what about momma and papa?' _she asked, looking around as if expecting to see her parents.

'_They'll be alright,' _Kagome told her. _'But for now, we have to keep moving.' _

She looked to the other two who were staring around them. _'Wow,' _Shippo said softly, looking around at all the trees._ 'It's been a long time since we've been back here.'_

'_But are the humans still here?'_ Kohaku asked worried, sniffing the air. _'Last time we were down here we were almost killed!'_

'_Don't know,'_ Kagome answered truthfully. _'But you know this area better than the rest of us. Is there a safe place for us to rest and wait for awhile?'_

'_There's the old den,'_ Kohaku suggested at once. _'Where we lived before we have to leave…?'_

'_No,'_ Kagome said at once. '_We don't know if the hunters are still here. If they know where the den is, that's the first place they'll check. Where else is there?'_

Kohaku thought it over, pacing back and forth before he called out, _'Wait! I think I might know one.'_

'_Then lead the way,'_ she told him as she picked up Yuki with her teeth and they followed him along the same trail they took long ago. Kagome blinked in realization when she saw that it was the same river that they crossed before. But here it was frozen over—hard enough for them to cross.

'_Careful,'_ she said, slowing down to a walk and carefully began wandering to the other side. Kohaku made it very easily, but Shippo was having trouble and kept losing his footing.

Once Yuki was across, she put her down and went back to take Kenta, and Shippo slipped behind her as they made their way back to land.

'_Sorry,'_ he muttered embarrassed.

'_It's alright,'_ she answered as Kenta whined. _'You aren't used to it. I know. But how far is this place, Kohaku?'_

'_It's an old tree where I used to hide out when I was little,'_ he answered. _'Humans don't know about it… at least, I hope not.'_

Kagome nodded and was soon following him. It was harder to run than it had been before with all this thick snow, but she was so much stronger and was more than ready to deal with anything they had to throw at her. She had to be careful as to not hit Yuki on any low branches as they followed a twisting path. They kept going for some time until she could see it. There was a large and very old tree right in the middle of this forest.

'_Here!'_ Kohaku called, dashing over to the tree and dipping down between large roots.

Kagome was right behind him and crawled down deep as well. It was a very small space—with the tree acting as a roof over them, and the floor and walls were made of cold dirt. But as soon as she dropped down Yuki besides her brother, the two of them were staring around them as if the dirt was something from another planet. Then again, they had never seen anything like dirt before so it really wasn't surprising. Finally, Shippo had to squeeze in, but there was hardly any room for the six of them.

'_What do we do?'_ he whispered as the three pups all huddled together in fear.

Kagome looked up through the entrance and sniffed the air bravely. _'I have to go and look.'_

'_What?'_ they both whispered.

'_I have to go,'_ she told them both firmly. _'Once of us as to go and see what's going on. It has to be me.' _

'_Then I'll go to,'_ Shippo started, but Kagome forced him down with her paw. _'You both stay here take care of the pups. I'll go alone.'_

She then got out and sniffed the air again. She didn't smell anything wrong… but that didn't help much. She looked back and could see their eyes looking up at her with worry. _'Don't worry about me,'_ she told them. '_I'll be fine. You just stay here and take care of each other. And no matter what, don't come out until I come back, and stay quiet.'_

'_But mom…'_ Shippo whimpered, but she already took off.

For the first time since she woke up as a wolf, she was back in Areno Woods. She dashed through the snow, knowing that she stood out like a sore thumb with her black fur, but she didn't see anything else. She jumped over logs, feeling better than she had for a long time as she dashed through the trees and feeling the wind rushing through her fur in a more gentle way than it did up on the cliffs. She much preferred this home to the hard stone and high winds that she had been stuck with.

But just what happened up there to the others? Where they safe? How long would it be before Naraku's wolves realized that they were down on solid ground again came after them? But that question was answered almost at once.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something move, she turned and saw him. Hakudoshi… the same wolf that she attacked. He charged at her like a bullet and tackled her to the ground. _'Got you…'_ he growled in her ear, teeth at her throat.

Furious, she bit him back, _'Get off of me!' _she howled before she was able to throw him off and ran, leading him away from the Yuki and the boys. On they ran, with the wolf behind her. She ran deeper into the woods, wondering what on earth she should do. If the hunters were here, they were bound to spot them sooner or… that was it!

She remembered there was a way to get him off her trail. If only it was still here…

She didn't like doing this, but she had to protect her pack and get him away from her. She made a sharp turn and went running off in a particular direction, knowing where she was heading. She could hear him running behind her—snarling all the way. She gritted her teeth—she was almost there! She could make it! She couldn't let herself get killed by him! She was a wolf… she could outrun him easy.

She started picking up speed, now almost flying through the forest, where her once chance was waiting for her. When they passed a giant boulder, she knew that this was it. She took a great running jump and cleared a particular patch of snow, hoping that she planned this right.

The next thing she heard was a howl of considerable pain.

She spun around and to her delight, the trap that she had seen her father put up was still there, thus the metal jaws were biting deep into Hakudoshi's leg. He howled as the blood poured down and he thrashed around, trying to get it off. She turned and ran, not giving him a chance to follow.

She did a complete 180 and went off in the opposite direction, hoping that there weren't any other traps that had been added. Up, down, side to side, she ran, hoping that he would become lost and not go after anyone else. Feeling the wind, the rush of the trees, her heart feeling freer than it had been in months… she ran… but in her desperation to escape… she ended up running to one place she never thought she see again.

She stopped dead at the place she saw… panting for breath…

She was at the cabin.

The last place she had seen her family. A pain she never felt to such a degree began to well up inside her, threatening to burst. Mom… Dad… Sota… how where they? Were they still here?

She looked around, trying to get any whiff of humans… she sniffed the air—but she didn't smell anything. Why wasn't anyone there? Did they just get up and leave just like that? She cautiously walked forward, getting ready to run should anyone come back out. But there wasn't anything in the driveway, and nobody around. There was a slight scent of humans, but it was old… as if the house had been empty for some time.

When was the last time someone had been here? She cautiously walked forward closer to the house… she looked up to see the window that had once been her room… this was the place where it all changed for her… the place where she lost so much… but gain as well.

For that moment she wished that she was a human again… for her mother to open the door and welcome her home with a strong, warm hug. She felt tears beginning to form as she whimpered in longing.

How were they? Were they alright? Did they think she was dead? These questions and so much more plagued her mind as she stood there staring at the empty windows.

That was when she heard familiar howling in the distance. Kagome sighed, getting to grips on her emotions and turned back. She had to forget for now… her pack needs her and she needs to be there for them.

With one last longing look at the house, and her former life, before she turned and dove back into the forest… to become the hunt-sister of the pack…

**(Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Next chapter you will all be getting the shock of a lifetime!)**


	24. Could this be Love?

_**Chapter 21: Could this be Love?**_

**(What's the scariest thing out there? It's not monsters, or anything like that. It's something that can happen to any one of us at any time, and it's always when we least expect it. True Love. Hey, who says love isn't scary? It can really hurt sometimes. Love is what people live for. And sometimes it can be what they die for…)**

Kagome felt her blood rushing through her body as she ran through the forest again, the black trees nothing but blurs flying past her, the gnarled branches flying overhead, sometimes blocking out the blue sky. The cold snow, that made the dark trees look even darker, surrounded her on all sides, almost making her feel trapped. But through the snow, feeling freer than she could ever remember—so happy to be back on the ground again—but she kept a sharp lookout for Hakudoshi or anyone else.

She had to get back to them all… she was scared that Naraku might've found the tree. Shippo and Kohaku might be able to fight back, but they couldn't hold out for long. And as if she had willed it, she could hear the howling of a dog in pain not far from her. Startled, she made a sharp turn and hurtled off in the direction of the whining, praying that it wasn't one of her pack members.

She ran for a short time until she saw them.

A particular large wolf had cornered Shippo, who was literally stuck between a giant rock and a hard place. There were large trees and boulders surrounded him from one side, and the wolf was backing him as far as he could as Shippo cowered against the stone.

The wolf had a tan and brown mix in his black fur. His eyes glowed an iridescent yellow and pearl white fangs glittered maliciously in the light, _'You stupid little pup. You think you can out run us? Do you think you can fight us off?'_

Fury overtook her. _'You get away from him!'_ she cried as she charged ahead and leapt up onto his back so that she could bite his neck. Predictably, he thrashed around in pain, rolling on the ground, trying to throw her off. Finally, when she tasted blood, she let go and jumped off—before he even realized what happened, she screamed for Shippo to follow, and he did without complaint.

'_What were you thinking?'_ she demanded as they ran for their lives as the wolf howled in pain/fury behind them.

'_I'm sorry!'_ he cried as he ran with her. _'I'm so sorry mom, but I got scared. You ran off, and you were taking so long to come back that I thought that something happened to you. So I went out to find you… that was when he caught me.'_

'_When I tell you not to do something, you are supposed to listen!'_ she called as they ducked under some snow filled bushes and hid there for a moment so that they could catch their breath. She rubbed her head against his in a comforting way as Shippo peered anxiously into her face.

'_I'm sorry,'_ he whimpered_. 'But I lost my mom once, I didn't want to go through it again…'_

At those words, Kagome's anger disappeared to be replaced by sadness and shame. 'Oh, Shippo,' she whispered as she rubbed her head against his again. 'I promise you, that nothing will happen to me.'

He sniffled as he hid his face in her fur. Kagome sat there for a short time, telling him comforting words… but soon, they heard Inuyasha's howl calling for them to come back. She looked up and gestured for Shippo to follow her and they ran out to meet him.

They ran in the direction of Inuyasha's call, wondering if anything else had happened to them. Fear tore at Kagome's heart, scared out of her mind that something terrible had happened to him and the others. Oh, and Kohaku… was he and the pups alright?

She prayed with all her heart that they were safe. She reared back her head and howled back loudly, _'Inuyasha! Over here!'_

He then called back, _'I'm looking for you! Come this way!'_

She picked up the pace and ran faster, almost desperate to see him. And there he was, sprinting towards them through the trees, like a silver flash. Though she saw with horror, that he was also covered in blood.

'_Inuyasha!' _she cried at once as he reached her and buried his nose in her long fur, to breath in her scent.

'_You're safe,' _he told her as he looked back up to her face.

'_We're fine,' _she told him as she stared at him. _'But Inuyasha… oh, you're hurt…'_

'_It's nothing,'_ he told her. _'Really, it's more their blood than mine right now. But that's not important now.'_

'_Not important?'_ she demanded angrily as Shippo caught up with them. _'But you're hurt! And what about the others?'_

Inuyasha didn't answer at first but he sighed and said, _'We're all alive but…'_

'_But what?' _she demanded, just what happened up on the cliffs.

'_Miroku's in bad shape,' _he sighed. _'We managed to deal with most of the Naraku's wolves. Most of them fled… but we did get several of them. Miroku got into a fight with one of them while we were making our way down here, and they both fell.'_

'_Fell from the cliff?' _she gasped as Shippo whimpered fearfully.

'_He's alive,'_ Inuyasha told them_. 'But he won't be up for awhile, it wasn't easy moving him, but we found a safe place for the moment. Sango's standing guard. Where's the pups? Koga and Ayame are freaking out.'_

'_What?'_ Kagome asked confused, before she remembered and gasped, _'Oh, this way… we found this tree where they could hide, I had to lead the enemy away from them, and I don't know what happened.'_

Inuyasha tossed his head anxiously. _'No way in hell I'm gonna be the one to tell them if something happened to them. Let's go.'_

And so, Kagome led the way, hoping against hope that the wolves hadn't found them… that they were safe…

The three of them sprinting across the mile, and Kagome yelled out, _'There! That big tree!'_

'_Right!' _Inuyasha called as he picked up the pace and ran past her. Kagome slowed down slightly, so that Shippo could catch up and they watched as Inuyasha stuck his snout down in the roots.

'_It's alright!' _he yelled. _'They're here!'_

Kagome felt as if a great weight was lifted off her shoulders as she slowed down and reached the tree. She ducked down at once, and indeed, they were there. Kohaku was sitting up, with the pups around his feet, whimpering in fear.

'_Auntie!' _Yuki cried as she went up to cry with her.

'_It's alright,' _Kagome said soothingly. _'It's alright. We're going to take you back to your parents now. Let's go.'_

She then picked the pup up and climbed her way out. Inuyasha and Kohaku each picked up one of the boys and followed him back the way they came.

'_What happened, Inuyasha?' _Shippo asked. _'We heard you all give us a warning and then…'_

'_We were out hunting,' _he said angrily as pups continued to cry, staring around them in amazement at every little detail. _'We just cornered another goat when all off a sudden, they appeared out of nowhere and attacked us. We were caught off-guard and barely got out of that mess alive. That was when we saw several wolves ahead of us, and we just knew that they were heading for you guys. We gave you a warning, as we went back to fighting.'_ He looked at himself bitterly and said, _'Really, I got more of them then they did of me.'_

'_And Sango? Ayame? Koga? What of them?'_ Kagome asked hurriedly as Yuki called out_, 'Mommy? Papa?'_

'_Koga wouldn't let any of them go near Ayame, so she's alright,' _he told her and the pups sighed in relief to know that their mother was safe.

'_And Koga?' _Kohaku asked, struggling to get up the steep hill that they were trying to climb.

'_He's been better,' _he answers. _'Just flesh wounds, he just won't be running for a few days. Sango got pretty cut up to, but we're all alive. It's Miroku who's in the worst shape. He won't be up for awhile.'_

Kagome shook her head in despair. Why couldn't Naraku just leave them alone? If it's not him, they have to worry about humans coming into their territory and…

She stopped dead. There she goes again. For crying out loud, she is human! Or at least, she was… why was all this going in her head? She was scared… she didn't know what to do…?

'_Auntie?' _Yuki croaked out and Kagome remembered that they had to keep moving.

'_I'm alright,' _she lied. _'I'm just worried about Miroku…'_

Inuyasha led them further on before he explained, _'We couldn't move Miroku far… but we did find a small cave that will work. Nowhere near as roomy as our one up on the cliffs, but it will work for now.'_

They reached the frozen river, and he led them upstream to a cave that was hidden by the brush… _'Out here you idiots!' he called to them. 'They're all here!'_

At those words, Kagome heard a faint scratching noise, and Ayame pulled herself up of the whole.

'_MOMMY!'_ the pups all cried and wiggled around, until they were put down and ran over to their mother. Ayame looked ready to cry with relief as she reached them and began to take them all to her as they crawled up onto her.

'_Oh, my babies… we were so worried… we were beginning to think…'_ she said, unable to finish a complete sentence.

'_Do it inside,'_ Inuyasha hissed as he walked past them and ducked downstairs.

'_Inuyasha,'_ Kagome hissed as she and Ayame rounded up the pups and took them inside. Inuyasha was right. It was much smaller, and darker than their first cave… but at once glance at her pack, she knew that it was the best that they could do for now. Koga was lying on a pile of leaves, looking like he just barely escaped from a shark attack.

His deep brown fur was matted with blood.

'_PAPA!'_ the pups all cried and his ears perked up at their voices. His head looked up as they ran over to him. As the little family enjoyed the reunion, Kagome looked up and gasped in horror. Miroku was lying at the very end of the cave—unlike the others, there was no blood on him, but she could see that from the way he was shaking and curled up—that something was wrong.

Sango was lying next to him, taking care of him. She was also cut up, but it didn't seem to be too bad. Kohaku went over to her at once, _'Sister?' _he asked hesitantly, and she smiled up at him.

'_I'm fine,' _she whispered, but looked back at Miroku, his eyes were tightly shut and his face was screwed up in pain, as though he was having nightmares.

'_Will he be ok?' _Kagome asked as she stared at him.

'_We don't know just yet,' _she answered back as she leaned closer to him, to keep him warm. _'The wolf we killed fell first and Miroku fell on top of him so he was spared death… but I don't think that he'll be alright for awhile.'_

Kagome didn't know what to do. She moved closer to Inuyasha, feeling safer with him here and began to lick his wounds.

'_We've got no choice now,' _he sighed as he also worked on his injuries. They all looked up at him. _'We have to stay here.'_

'_But the humans,' _Kohaku began.

'_We'll have to risk them,'_ Inuyasha finished bitterly. _'We can't move now… we just have to be extra careful, and try not to go out so often.'_

He lowered his head onto his front paws, and didn't say another word. Kagome leaned next to him, feeling scared. Why did any of this have to happen? No one said another word for the rest of the day, not even the pups as they curled up with their parents, wishing that this was all just a bad dream.

*Weeks later*

They hid out in that little cave for a long time. They didn't dare stray out of the cave for longer than a few minutes—and only a couple of them would leave to hunt. The pups were growing fast and soon, there was just no more room for all of them in the cave. And so, Koga and Ayame decided that it was time to leave and raise their pack on their own.

'_Are you sure that you all will be ok?'_ Sango asked them as they all piled out of the cave to say goodbye. The sun was slowly starting to sink down to the horizon—long experience has taught them that twilight was one of the best hours to venture out.

'_Yes,'_ Ayame answered as she looked to see the pups sniffing at the river's edge. _'There will be fewer mouths for everyone to feed, and more room for you guys.' She looked back to her and said, 'Besides, it's not like we'll be saying goodbye forever. We'll just be heading to another forest to the north. I'm sure that we'll meet up again real soon.'_

Kagome went over and rubbed her head against the pups.

'_Your brothers are going to be as reckless as your father someday,'_ Kagome whispered to Yuki. _'Make sure you keep them in line.'_

'_We'll miss you auntie!'_ she cooed and Kagome was tempted to go with them.

'_If you guys need any help, then don't hesitate to ask,'_ Sango told them as they watched the little family of five walk away.

'_Likewise,'_ Ayame told her as she rubbed her head against Sango's in a Farwell.

Kagome couldn't help but feel as if she was losing part of her family all over again. But she knew that it was for the best.

'_Bye-Bye!'_ Yuki called to them once they reached the top of a mound.

And suddenly, Kagome, Sango, Kohaku, and Shippo all reared back their heads and howled loudly. The five then howled back—their songs mixing together to one…

With one last glance, the pack turned and left them. The four of them stood there and watched the hill even long after they were out of sight and their scents were gone.

'_I'm gonna miss them,'_ Shippo whimpered.

Kagome bumped her head against his, _'We all are. But it was for the best. There's just no more room for them, and they want to start teaching the pups how to take care of themselves.'_

'_Yeah but…'_ Kohaku said sadly as Sango shoved him back to the den.

Miroku looked up at them all. He had been recovering nicely since the fight, and was now able to walk short distances… but even walking across the den took a lot of energy for him.

'_How are you feeling?'_ Sango asked as she came over to check on him.

'_Better now that you are here,'_ he told her, batting his eyes. She rolled her own as she flicked her tail in his face in retaliation. Kagome looked around, _'Where's Inuyasha?' _she asked.

'_He said something about taking another look around,'_ Miroku answered, not looking away from Sango. _'He said that it's too quiet.'_

'_Good point,' _Sango answered as she sniffed around the den. Miroku continued to watch her._ 'Ah, my dear,'_ he said lovingly. _'I don't think I could've made it this far in my recovery without you here. And since that special time of the year is almost upon us, I was thinking…?'_

'_Don't even ask,'_ Sango said in annoyance.

'_What time of the year?'_ Kagome asked in confusion. They both looked up at her in surprise before Sango said, _'You're kidding right?'_

'_No, I'm serious,'_ she asked, once again, feeling stupid. _'What's happening?'_

Sango pushed herself against her, taking her out the den. _'Follow me,'_ she said. 'That way the boys won't hear us.'

Completely bewildered, she climbed back out into the bright light and kept close to her as Sango led her across the river. The ice had melted, and the river was back, though with all the melting snow it was still icy cold. The branches were free of all traces of winter, and small traces of leaves were starting to pop up. Spring was here… and this was where Kagome got a big shock. Sango had led her far enough away from the den to explain it to her, without the men able to hear. It was mating season for the wolves.

'_Mating season?'_ she repeated blankly.

'_Yep,'_ Sango said. _'Mating season is almost here. Kagome, do you know how soon mating season is?'_ Sango asked her.

'_Kinda,' _Kagome said softly, knowing what was coming.

'Mating season is when wolves, who are full grown, try to make mates with other wolves,' she answered simply.

'_So you get together and have pups?'_ she asked carefully.

'_Yes, but it's more than that,'_ she answered, lying down. _'When we mate, we mate for life. Last mating season, Koga and Ayame chose each other. And they will be together until they die.'_

So it's like a marriage. Marriage? Her marry a wolf?

'_Do-I mean, do you have to chose a partner?'_ Kagome asked anxiously.

'_Oh, no,'_ Sango answered, shaking her head, and Kagome felt as if a weight had come up from off her shoulders. _'You see, this union is sacred. The one you choose must be from someone you will love for now and ever. True love…'_

Kagome sighed in relief. _'What about you?' _she asked.

Sango laughed. _'Well, Shippo's too young for me, and Kohaku's my brother. That leaves only Inuyasha and Miroku, and I'm not eager for either of them.'_

But Kagome didn't believe that. Sango had refused to make eye contact with her. _'Sango…'_ she asked her knowingly.

'_What?'_ she asked defensively.

'_You're thinking of someone aren't you?' _Kagome asked, suddenly feeling defensive herself. _'Who is it?'_

Sango hesitated for a moment before she answered bitterly, _'Ok, I care a lot for Miroku, but that's it! But that's only because he's still recovering. If he hadn't, I wouldn't bother.'_

Kagome couldn't explain why she suddenly felt so relieved. Instead, she remembered how close the two of them had been getting as Sango started to nurse him back to health. She also happened to remember what Miroku once said… about how he cared for Sango.

'_I think that you should,' _she told her.

'_Should what?'_ she asked.

'_I think that it would be sweet if you chose him for your mate,' _Kagome laughed. _'I think that he really does love you.'_

Sango's ears perked up at those words, but she still wouldn't look at her. _'Look, it's nothing. What about you and Inuyasha?'_

At those words, Kagome actually stepped backwards._ 'Why are you asking that?!' _she barked almost panicky.

Sango finally looked up. _'Because I can see. I see how much you care for each other. Why not get together with him. You both can start a family right away.'_

Kagome shook her head forcefully. _'Oh, no it's nothing like that! Inuyasha and I are just…'_

But whatever they were, she never had a chance to say, for at that moment she heard pounding footsteps behind her and Sango bushed past her, knocking her clear to the ground. Dazed and confused, Kagome rolled back up onto her feet, and stared around her.

Sango was fighting with another wolf, a big and ugly one—most likely one of Naraku's. Kagome charged forward to help her, when something big rammed into her. She was, once again, knocked off her feet as another large wolf had her pinned. She stared up into his fierce eyes and recognized him as the wolf she had attacked when Shippo had been cornered.

'_Hello beautiful,'_ he growled down at her. _'I've been looking forward to seeing you again.'_

Kagome struggled underneath him, trying to get away. _'I was starting to think that you didn't want to see me again,'_ he hissed, teeth inches away from her throat.

'_Well, you were right,'_ she hissed back, her jaws unable to bite him.

He laughed. _'Too bad,'_ he growled. Suddenly he opened his mouth and lunged for her throat, she shut her eyes, expecting to have her throat ripped out any second…

'_GET YOUR FILTHY CLAWS OFF HER!'_ screamed a familiar voice, filled with fury, and with a roar of rage, something knocked into them both.

The wolf was off her, and she spun around to get back to her feet and stared around. Inuyasha had come, this time he was attacking the wolf that tried to kill her. _'Jaromaru!'_ he howled.

And it was a horrible site, the two wolves were at each other's throats, ripping—clawing at each other. Kagome charged ahead but he yelled, 'Stay back, Kagome!'

'_What are you thinking?!'_ she howled.

'_Like hell, I'm gonna let him hurt you!'_ he called back. _'Help Sango!'_

Kagome turned to see that Sango was now pinned and the large wolf was now trying to bit her. Kagome attacked, biting his leg hard enough that he was distracted and Sango attacked. The battle ended with the large wolf running for the hills, and the second one, Jaromaru, bleeding to death.

'_Sango?' _Kagome asked her anxiously, her friend panting hard, and having a cut muzzle.

'_I'm fine,' _she assured her. _'I'm fine. It's not that bad.'_

'_Thank god,' _she sighed, she looked up, _'Inuyasha? Me and Sango are—Inuyasha!'_

Her voice got caught in her throat as Inuyasha staggered where he stood and fell. _'INUYASHA!' _she screamed and sprinted to his side. Once again, his beautiful fur was stained with blood. _'Inuyasha,' _she cried, staring at his side… a deep wound—part of a tooth still imbedded in his fur. He gazed up at her through hazy eyes before they shut and he became still.

'_NO!' _she screamed, licking his wound, trying to get him to wake up. She stared back to Sango, who was running back to the den—obviously getting help.

She turned back to Inuyasha and felt tears burning her eyes.

'_Please don't die Inuyasha… I love you, don't leave me. I love you, and if you heard me I want to be with you, please don't go,' _she told him, making tears well up in her eyes, a tear fell on his face.

'_Kagome!' _called Miroku's voice, she looked up to see him limping his way over to them, panting long and hard, the effort of running was quickly draining him of energy. After that, they were able to drag Inuyasha back to the den, and Miroku gave up his bed of soft leaves, claiming that Inuyasha needed it more.

Kagome sat with him the whole time, tending to his wounds as best she could. She licked his terrible injury and spoke comforting words to him, hoping that he could hear her. She wasn't aware if the others were there or not, but it no longer matter. The only thing that she cared about was if Inuyasha would be alright… as she cared for him… she came to an understanding… what she knew she had to do…

*The next day*

'_We'll leave you alone with him. We'll go hunt… he'll need food when he wakes up,'_ Sango said to her.

'_But…'_ Kagome began but Sango gave her a gentle look. '_We'll be back soon. Don't worry, he won't die on us… we know that you'll take care of him.'_

Kagome nodded as the rest of the pack left, leaving her alone to care for Inuyasha. She turned back to him… he had slept soundly through the night, but she didn't leave his side. All night, she stayed by his side and shared her warmth with him, talking to him… but then… all of a sudden… he had opened his eyes at long last.

'_Inuyasha!'_ she gasped, happiness coursing through her whole body as she licked his muzzle. _'You're awake!'_

His glassy eyes looked up at her. _'Kagome?'_

'_Don't talk yet,' _Kagome interrupted him gently, licking blood away from his fur. _'You're in bad shape, you don't want to push yourself.'_

'_I don't care, Kagome,' _he said, looking up at her, _'I need to know… what you said before… did you mean it?'_

'_Mean what?' _she asked, not sure she understand.

He panted for a few moment before he croaked out, _'You said… you said that you… you love me…'_

She blinked. So he had heard her? She stopped licking his cuts and looked at him, _'I wasn't sure how I felt about you at first. You see… Sango had only just told me that mating season was coming… and she was wondering what I felt for you…'_

'_And what did you say?'_ he asked, raising his head up a little.

'_I don't know,'_ she answered. _'That was when we were attacked. But then… when I saw you fighting to protect me… and when I saw you hurt… I—I just realized that I was afraid to lose you… I couldn't face the idea of you dying on me. I never felt so scared my whole life. When I saw you fighting for me… I realized that I…'_

Her words trailed off.

'_You what?' _Inuyasha asked, raising himself up so that they were eye level.

'_Inuyasha,' _she whispered. '_I guess that after being here for so long and then after what happened with you fighting for me I guess that I… I-Inuyasha I love you. I really do.' _She said then leaned down and touched his nose with hers—as if she was giving him a kiss. Kagome broke away and stared at his eyes longingly.

'_Kagome…'_ he whispered.

Kagome looked away, unable to face his eyes when he leaned in and nuzzled his head with hers. _'Me too…'_

She turned back to his head and stared at him.

He was still breathing hard, but he was speaking firmly, _'Kagome… I… love you too. I have for a long time. And I've been wanting nothing more than for you to agree to be my mate. I want you…'_

She had always dreamt about getting married and having a big wedding. But after she became a wolf, she had given up all hope of that happiness. But here, she realized that it wasn't taken away from her, she had been given it. While her husband wasn't a human, he was still the one person she loved more than anyone else. She loved him… and he loved her…

She rubbed her head against him and whispered, _'Yes… I will be your mate. I want to, I really do. I want you to be happy and not be alone anymore. I love you with all my heart, Inuyasha and I want to be the one to have your pups.'_

Inuyasha's was staring at her, happiness in both their eyes and he touched his nose with hers she blushed. To her surprise, Inuyasha wrapped his tail around hers then placed his paw on hers and licked her muzzle. _'I love you, so much.'_

She smiled then said, _'Well if you don't get healed up fast you won't be ready by the time mating season arrives. I'll help.'_ After awhile she laid down next him—lying side by side—and their tails were wrapped around one another. Then they smiled at each other and went to sleep.

**(My prays go out to all of the families and everyone in Newtown. This chapter on love goes out to all those families who lost someone they loved that day.)**


	25. Hunters

_**Chapter 22: Hunters**_

**(We've all got something that scares us, even though it shouldn't. You know that the darkness can't hurt you. And you know most spiders can't hurt you. But there's still some dark place inside that makes your hands sweat, and your mouth go dry. Fear is different for everyone. The kind you have to face up to or it will eat you alive.)**

Kagome felt warmth on her face as the sun's rays washed over her. She didn't want to open her eyes but she heard a voice calling her name and opened them reluctantly. Kagome looked down to see a pair of friendly yellow eyes looking up at her. Kagome immediately recognized what the eyes belonged to when saw its stubby tail was thumping the ground and its tongue was lolling out while one of his ears was perked up. He looked so comical than she couldn't help laughing.

She raised her head and yawned.

'_Good morning, Shippo,'_ she said gently as she stretched out. It had been several days since she and Inuyasha confessed their feelings for each other, and he was almost fully recovered.

'_Mom!'_ he whined. _'Did you hear what happened? Miroku and Sango!'_

'_What?'_ she asked quickly, suddenly wide awake. _'I don't know,'_ he said with a whimper. _'But they told me to get you and Inuyasha!'_

She raced out, with Inuyasha and Shippo right besides her. They raced to the top of the nearest snow-covered hill where their friends were.

'_What's wrong?'_ Inuyasha demanded.

'_Hunters,'_ Miroku said. He was still pretty weak from the beating that he took, but he was finally standing on his own. _'A family of four… we saw them setting traps.'_

Inuyasha growled. _'We've got to leave.'_

'_But Naraku…?' _Shippo began.

'_Most of his pack's been wiped out,' _said Kohaku's voice. He came running up to them through the trees. _'And those that are still there have left. Kagura and Kanna for example went to Sesshomaru for protection. At least that's what I heard. Naraku's now determined to kill us… he's on the prowl and he's heading this way as we speak.'_

'_We've got to get out of here,' _Sango said. _'We'll head South from here. It should be far enough away for us to deal with.'_

Kagome nodded. _'You go first,' _she said to Miroku. _'It's going to take longer with your injuries.' _

'_I can manage,' _he said firmly, but as he moved, he winced and almost fell. Sango went to his side as Kohaku went on the other side as Shippo followed nervously behind them.

'_Sure you can,' _Sango said. _'Look, we'll help you. It's going to be easier than last time… Ayame was having pups… but we don't need to worry about them.'_

Kagome and Inuyasha both split up from them as they ran. She choked and gasped and breathed hard until finally, her stomach was empty, and she was aching for some food. She blinked and looked around her unfamiliar surroundings.

But then they heard a loud roar of rage. They spun around to see Naraku racing towards them, madness in his eyes as he charged at her. Inuyasha then ran and hit Kagome so hard in her side that she rolled down the hill.

'_Inuyasha!'_ she howled furiously as she used her front paws to get back on her stomach and slid down the rest of the way. She could hear them fighting and she tried to get back up the hill to help, but by the time she dragged herself up the slippery slope, it had fallen silent that they had run off.

'_Inuyasha?'_ she called hoarsely. Her voice was edged with fear and nervousness.

She was alone.

Kagome remembered that even if he was nearby and just out of sight, he wouldn't be able to respond to her vocally. She scrambled to her feet and looked around wildly. That was when she heard something that sent a chill of fear through her body. It was a gunshot. She turned and ran back desperate to find him, trying to find out if they were safe, but as she ran neared the den, Kagome heard something else. A cry of pain. She stopped dead in her tracks and looked back was that Shippo? No, this one was different… but why did it sound so familiar?

Kagome doubled back, hoping that she wouldn't regret it. As she ran, she heard the crying getting louder and louder. When she jumped a log, she stopped dead at what she saw…

It was Sota.

She stared at him. It was him! Her annoying little brother was here! Oh, god, she missed him so much. He was leaning against a large tree that must've fallen over during a storm, dressed in hunting gear, but what scared her was that his leg was stuck in one of the traps that she seen them use.

'_Sota?'_ she thought as she stepped closer, tears forming at the sight of her little brother. She wanted nothing more than to have human arms again and hug him.

He looked up and saw her and backed against the tree trunk. "No," he gasped, his voice filled with terror. "No, please… please don't hurt me…"

Her eyes saddened as she approached.

'_Kagome?!'_ called a familiar voice. She turned and spotted Inuyasha running towards her, alive, and looking furious. _'Kagome! What are you doing? There are humans around and…'_ he just spotted Sota. He stopped where he was and stared at the boy for a few moments before his eyes darkened.

'_Let's go,'_ he growled. _'Before he comes after us too.'_

'_We have to help him,'_ she said firmly. _'He's hurt! If we leave him, it could be hours before anyone else finds him!'_

'_Kagome, he stepped in a trap, the same trap that tried to kill us both,'_ he growled at her. _'He deserves it.'_

'_He's a pup himself,'_ she said looking at him. _'He doesn't know any better look. It was his elders who taught him how to hunt. We shouldn't blame him for this.'_

He looked, and saw the little boy was shaking in fear. He glanced at her and sighed. _'Fine…'_

She rubbed her head against him and they cautiously approached him. "No," he whimpered, hiding his head. She shook her head as she approached even closer and licked his hand. He stopped and glanced up at her cautiously through his fingers as she rubbed her head gently against his hand.

"G-good wolf," he stammered as he softly touched her head. Inuyasha reared back his head and howled, trying to draw hunters closer. Kagome looked back at him and laid down with him, to keep him as warm as possible while Inuyasha continued to call.

Sota slowly petted her fur and she could feel him slowly starting to calm down. But just as she was starting to enjoy being with Sota again, she heard running footsteps and knew that humans were coming.

'_We go now!'_ Inuyasha called and she agreed. Inuyasha took off like a bullet, but she ran only far enough to see what was going on, and to make sure that her brother would be safe. Still far enough so that they wouldn't see her against the dark of the trees, she almost cried again when she saw her father, looking older and graver than she could ever remember seeing, came bursting through the trees.

"Sota?!" her dad yelled in relief when he found him.

"Dad!" he cried and he came over to kneel next to him.

"Sota," he said, his face terrified as he touched Sota's face. "Are you alright? I told you not to wonder off like that."

"I'm sorry dad," he cried as he hugged him. "I thought I saw something and I followed it, by the time I lost it, I didn't know where I was and I got my leg trapped in this thing. And then the wolves came."

"Did they hurt you?" he demanded, grabbing his arms, fear in his tone.

"No," Sota said as dad pulled reached down to pull his leg out of the trap. "There were two of them. The Quicksilver and the black one that you and the others call Moonsong… they found me and…"

"We're lucky that they didn't hurt you," dad said, taking off his coat and wrapping it around him as he hugged him fiercely. "When I heard the howling, I was afraid that they had hurt you."

"No," Sota said, shaking his head. "They didn't hurt me. They sat here with me and kept howling. I think they knew that I was in trouble. That's why they called out."

"Sure," dad said, his tone skeptical.

"I'm serious," Sota said firmly as dad picked him up and carried him off through the trees. "They were keeping me safe and…"

"Sota, they're the same monsters that caused your sister to take off," he said and Kagome stared. "I'm only glad that it didn't happen to you. Look, let's get you back to the truck. Your mother is going to be worried sick when she sees this."

Kagome suddenly felt an urge of longing she couldn't remember ever hearing. She wanted her mother, she wanted her mom to hold her and keep her safe and warm. Knowing that she would regret this, she took off in the direction of the cabin. She knew that Inuyasha would be worried sick about her by now, but that can wait. She wanted to see her family one more time…

Looking up in the direction where Inuyasha disappeared, and then looking off in the opposite direction to where she knew that cabin would be, she made up her mind. She wanted to see them again.

It didn't take long at all for her to get there. And when she did, got her first shock. Sitting there, on the front step, was a familiar figure…

'_Kikyo?' _she cried out, staring at her through the trees. Her best friend was indeed there, looking sad as she sat there, bundled up in her coat, something shining in her hands. Kagome risked a step forward and saw that it was the same necklace that Kikyo had given her… the one that caused all this trouble.

But when she tried to step back, her foot broke a stick in two, loud enough to catch Kikyo's attention. Kikyo looked up at her and stared when she found her eyes. For a few moments she didn't seem able to speak. "Hello," she said softly, putting her hand out to her. "It's ok, I'm not going to hurt you."

Kagome slowly came forward to her. She knew that she was risking a lot, but she couldn't help it; she wanted to get closer to her. Taking careful note of the trap that was in front of the house, she stepped around it and came up to her. "It's ok, don't be afraid," Kikyo said soothingly. Kagome came and felt her hand on her head.

"Here," Kikyo said, petting her thick, matted fur. "I'm sorry for everything that these people are doing to you."

Kagome only breathed in her familiar scent as she went on, "But they've been even meaner than normal. You see, their daughter, my best friend disappeared months ago when they came up to visit. They think that it was a wolf who attacked her, but no one ever saw anything. But Mr. Higurashi has been so furious about the whole thing."

Kagome stared up at her sadly; her nose sniffing the jewel in her hands.

"Oh this?" Kikyo asked, as if she heard the question. "This jewel was a present I gave to Kagome, my friend, before they went on their trip up here. I don't know what has happened… I only hope that she's alright…"

Kagome wanted to cry, to tell her that she was safe and sound right in front of her; but just then there was a loud honk and she jumped back to see that her dad and Sota were back.

"Hey!" her father yelled, getting out of the truck and holding up a short bat. "Get away from her!"

"No!" Kikyo yelled, standing up between her and her dad as Kagome stepped back, too scared to know what to do. "Leave her alone!"

"Kikyo get back!" dad yelled at her, pushing her down as he ran forward towards her. "I know this mongrel. It's the same one that was in the house when Kagome disappeared!"

"No!" Kikyo yelled, getting back up to her feet. "Don't hurt her! She's harmless!"

"Harmless?" he demanded as he came closer. "This beast was in my house, scared my daughter off, no one knows where she is, that doesn't sound harmless to me."

Kagome finally came back to her senses, and turned to run, but she wasn't watching where she was going. The trap that she had seen when she first came here had been there and it crunched down on her hand. She cried out in pain, trying to move, but the harder she tried, the more the teeth dug deep into her paw.

That was when her father was standing over her with the bat, holding it up—ready to strike.

"No! Don't!" Kikyo screamed, running forward and grabbing his arm. "Don't do it! Don't hurt her!"

Sota, who just stumbled from the truck, was on her side, "Don't do it! Don't do it dad! She helped me!"

She couldn't pull her paw free, her dad shoved Kikyo back to the ground again and swung down at her.

'_Daddy no!'_ she screamed in terror, and for a moment, honestly believed that her own father was going to kill her.

But then to her amazement he stopped, the bat inches from her face. Breathing hard, she stared up at him, to see that he was staring back at her… as if he could see something that he never saw before. Here, Kagome could almost swear that he could see her in this form… see that it was his daughter in the form of a dog. He was staring at her, and slowly the bat fell from his hands.

Kikyo ran past him and threw herself between Kagome and her dad, "Don't worry," she whispered to her. "I won't let him hurt you." She then tried to work the trap so that she could pull her bloody paw free.

"Press down on the sides to release it," Sota said, who had limped over to her. He stared up at his father, who was continuing to stare down at her. "Dad why didn't you…?"

He didn't answer at first, he just continued to stare. Finally, he said softly, "I don't know. I just couldn't. I was going to do it, I was going to kill her… but something just stopped me."

"Well, be grateful," Kikyo snapped at him. "You've done enough murder already."

Kikyo hugged Kagome's neck, glaring at them both. "Now do you see?" she demanded. "They aren't just animals. They are living creatures! They've been here longer than humans have been… this is their forest not ours! They all deserve to live just as much as we do!"

Sota and her dad just continued to look down at them both, wondering what to say. Kikyo turned her back on them both and held her paw gently. "Isn't that right?" she whispered.

'_Kikyo, thank you,'_ she said softly. She thought back to everything Kikyo had said before that trip that changed her life forever. She knew that she was right… she had been right about it all from the very start. _'Yes,'_ she thought. _'I only wish I could tell you that for real.'_

But that was when something very strange happened.

Kikyo frowned slightly as she stared into her eyes. "Kikyo?" Sota asked.

But Kikyo wasn't looking at him, she had that same look in her eyes that her father had had. That was when Kagome knew…

"Kagome?" Kikyo whispered softly.

And that was when it happened, at her name, Kagome felt something inside her change. Her entire body began to tingle, she felt her shoulders ache, her face shrink, her tail disappearing…

She looked down at the bloody paw in Kikyo's hand slowly transformed into a bloody hand, a human hand. Kikyo stared at her, her jaw falling open in astonishment as her brother and father let out loud gasps of shock. Kagome was back. Kagome the human, not Moonsong the wolf. She was in the same nightdress she had been the night she transformed, however, it was dirty, and torn to ribbons, and stained with blood. Her hair was matted and tangled into a hopeless mess, she could feel the cold wind on her bare skin…

"Kagome?" dad whispered, the bat falling from his fingers as Kagome held up her hands and stared at them, flexing her fingers.

"Kagome!" Sota shouted and flung himself at her as Kikyo hugged her like a sister, tears threatening to form in her eyes.

"Kagome," dad whispered again and hugged her tightly as well, this time there were tears in his eyes. "Are you alright? How… how?"

'_Dad, I'm…'_ she thought, but then she remembered they couldn't hear her like that.

"Daddy," she croaked out, her voice weak and hoarse. It was then that she realized just how little she had used this voice… but it didn't matter. "I'm alright…" she looked up at them all, tears falling down her face. "I missed you all so much."

But as she looked up in her father's strong arms, she could see him…

Inuyasha was in the distance, staring at her.

"Inuyasha," she whispered miserably, her heart feeling as if it was breaking. They looked up at who she was talking about.

Dad stared at him. Unable to say anything. But Sota knew what to do now… he picked up the bat that their father dropped. He turned away and he threw it as far away into the woods as he could where it will, hopefully, never be found again.

But Kagome stared directly into the golden eyes that she had grown to love so much. Inuyasha stared back at her. And after what felt like hours, he slowly turned and walked away…

Leaving Kagome to sit there and cry, holding onto her friend and family as tightly as she could, none of them understanding how much pain she was in.

**(Only three more chapters! I don't know about you, but I'm going to be glad when this story is finally over! Hope you enjoyed this!)**


	26. Faraway Homesickness

_**Chapter 23: **__**Faraway Homesickness**_

**(Memories are the most important things we can share. And a lot of memories are shared, we look at this stuff and we all think of the same things. That's important because it brings us together as friends. But can you imagine if we didn't have these memories? It would be like we had no past… and no friends. And the future would be just as empty and lonely.)**

Kagome was sitting there staring out the window at the bright, silver moon over the darkened forest. For the first time in months, she had taken a long hot bath, changed into clean clothes, and ate at the table at a delicious home-cooked meal thanks to her mother.

Everyone had been so stunned to hear her story and Kikyo just started at the jeweled necklace in her hands—as if lost in thought.

Her father was especially torn up when he learned what had happened.

They all just held onto her and told her everything that had been happening since she left. After she disappeared, they called in a huge search party to search every square inch of the woods. They searched the whole of Areno Woods for days, but they never found a trace of her.

"We didn't know what happened," her mother said, as she ran her fingers lovingly through her daughter's hair. "It was like you just disappeared into thin air."

"I'm sorry," Kagome croaked out, still not used to using her voice after all this time. "But I just didn't…"

"No, we understand," mom said firmly. "How could anyone believe a story like this?"

"Yeah," Sota gasped. "If I didn't see you transform like that I never would've! Can you do it again?"

Kagome shook her head. "I don't know… I honestly don't know how it happened." She looked to Kikyo, who looked just as confused as she did.

"I don't know," she answered softly. "I found this necklace in a store and the woman who ran it, told me about wolves. I just gave it to you so that you would remember that hunting such beautiful creatures was wrong. Kagome, I swear if I knew then…?"

But Kagome shook her head. "No, don't," she said hoarsely. "I'm glad that you did. I learned so much…" Kagome then told them all about her adventures in the forest. How the wolves had taken her in, and how she had hunted with them.

Sota's jaw dropped. "You have got to be kidding!" he cried. "You hunted with wild wolves all this time?"

"You saw her turn from a wolf into a human didn't you?" Kikyo demanded. "How else could she have survived all this time out there? She couldn't have all alone!"

"You're right," Kagome smiled. "They were so kind to me…"

"But the wolves always disappear around this time of year," dad said hurriedly.

"They aren't dumb animals dad," she said firmly. "They're intelligent. I'm not saying that they'll be getting driver licenses anytime soon, but they aren't wild beasts like you always thought! They were kind and brave! And I can't tell you how ashamed I am to think of all the cruelty that humans have done to them."

She lowered her head and put her face in her hands. "Humans treat wild animals like they aren't living beings!" she muttered. The traps, the men chasing them, Shippo's parents… her father standing over her with that club…

"It was terrifying being hunted!" she cried out. She started shaking and she felt her mother's warm arms wrap around her.

"They climb the cliffs dad," Kagome croaked out. "They know that you guess are after them, so they had no choice but to go up where you can't follow them."

"But wolves can't climb," Sota said at once.

"I lived with them for months, Sota," she said. "They can't climb like cats, but they are so smart and kind…"

She raised her head and looked at her father.

"Daddy?" she asked softly.

He blinked and stared at her.

"You can't hunt anymore," she said looking at him through pleading eyes. "You think that they're just wild animals. And they are… but they're living creatures too. You know that wolf that you brought home? That was the mother of a young pup that I lived with for all that time. I can't tell you how guilty I felt! And the day that I became a wolf, his father was also killed. Daddy, something must be done. I owe so much to each of these creatures and I can't stand by and let them ever become stuff and mounted!"

Her father stared down at her and then he nodded. "I promise. I won't ever hunt again." He turned his back on her and walked from the room. "And I won't let anyone else do so again either."

Kagome stared at him as he headed to his coat and pulled out his phone. She watched as he dialed a number and held it up. "Hey," he said. "Listen… I need you to do me a favor. We're going to put an end to this hunting season."

Kagome blinked and suddenly she felt warm tears in her eyes. She moved from her mother's arms and ran to hug her father tightly.

*A few days later*

Her father was as good as his word. He had called the rest of his hunting buddies together and told them that they were going to create a national park. A park where it would be against the law to hunt the wolves here.

Predictably, they were all stunned at his words and were demanding to know what had got into him. Her dad then told them that he found his daughter—he didn't tell them about how she had been a wolf—but that he owed the wolves for keeping her safe all this time.

Hojo was among them, and when he heard that she was alive and well, he had to come and see her. She forced a smile as he came in carrying health products to help her recover.

"Oh, Kagome," he said with a wide smile. "I can't tell you what it means to see you again! It's like a miracle that you're alive!"

"I know," Kagome answered tiredly. Hojo had tried to ask where she had been all this time, but all she had to do was pretend that she was too tired to speak and he bought it hook-line-and sinker. But when she begged that he support her father on trying to turn this place into a national park, he was more than happy to do so.

"It really is amazing," mom said to her as she came into her room, carrying a tray of hot soup for her. "Your father is working hard and convincing everyone. It really wouldn't surprise me if we're able to get this pulled off in just a few weeks at most. Since hunting season is almost over, we have until next year to get if official."

"That really is wonderful," Kagome smiled as she looked out at the bright sky. "Ayame and her pups can grow up in a world without fear now."

"Ayame? That's the pregnant wolf that you mentioned before right dear?" her mother asked.

"Yes," Kagome said. "I wonder how she, Koga, and all the others are doing."

Her mom looked at her with a strange look in her eyes as Kagome swallowed the hot soup. "What about you?" she asked softly.

Kagome, who was halfway to her mouth with another spoonful, looked up. "What do you mean?" she asked in confusion. "I'm fine."

Her mom gave her a sad look. "No… you aren't… you're happy to be back with us, but you also seem to be sad."

Kagome put her spoon and looked at her miserably. Finally, she told her mom the whole story. She told her about how she had lied and said that she had come from another pack and everything else. "And when I turned back," she finished, "I know that Inuyasha saw me! I can't stand the thought of not being able to see him again and explain what this was about." She pushed her food away and got out of bed and paced the room. "I just gave up the hope of ever coming back as a human! But now that I'm back, I feel terrible! I don't know what to do."

She sighed, coming to a stop at the window and leaning on the sill. "I want to see him again, and let him know just how much I appreciate everything he's done for me… even if he hates me."

With her back to her mother, she couldn't see the understanding look flash in her eyes. "I see," mom said. "Well, why don't you get some sleep now? I'm sure that you'll get a chance to soon."

Mom gave her another hug and kissed the top of her head. "I'm sure that you'll figure it out."

Kagome watched her go, not sure she understood what her mom meant.

*That night*

Late that night, she sat up in her window, looking out at the dark grounds and forest. She wondered how the others were doing. Did Inuyasha tell them that she was a human all along? How was Shippo taking the news? Did they hate her? Was Miroku's injuries ok? Was Sango furious with her? Or how about…?

"Inuyasha…" she whispered sadly, staring ahead at the crescent moon in the sky. Below her laid the forest, dark, moist, and quiet. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the cool glass. "I want to see you…" she whispered. Suddenly, she heard it—in the distance she heard the callings of her pack. Was it hunt-song? No, it was pack-song. They're just singing to be doing it, not to celebrate the kill.

She wanted to run dive into the forest, go to them, be hunt-sister and one with the pack once again.

She opened her eyes and stared at the darkness, trying not to cry. Why should she be feeling this way? She was back where she belonged, and soon this place would be safe for them all… Inuyasha could find a new mate and raise pups in safety. Yet, why did her heart ache so?

That was when she saw something silver flashing between the trees just below her window. She gasped as the silver wolf that she knew and loved was standing there looking up at her.

She couldn't help it. She forced the window open and jumped down to the ground to join him. There was no obvious exit to be seen. The only tree next to her was the only one there. It was a tall, thin and scraggly tree, out of place here. It was only her and the silver wolf with golden eyes that were staring up at her.

"Inuyasha," she whispered, suddenly falling to her knees. "I'm so sorry… I know I should have told you…" she felt hot tears beginning to form, but she pushed them back as she looked at him.

"I know that you can understand me," she said, "And don't worry, all the traps here have been removed. I don't know what's going on inside your head at the moment, but before you leave, please let me explain."

Inuyasha didn't move, listening to every word she had to say as if fascinated.

She took a deep breath and told him everything. How she had come up here months ago with her family to hunt. How she got the necklace from Kikyo and it was someone curse and turned her into a wolf. How she had been chased out into the forest and met him.

She took a deep breath and finished, "But there's nothing to worry about anymore. I told my dad everything and he swore that he wouldn't let anyone else hunt here. They're working on turning this place into a national park so that no one will be able to harm you or any of the others. You don't need to worry anymore about humans."

She felt the tears rolling down her face as she raised her head to him. "I'm so sorry… I know that nothing I say can ever make up for what we've done to you. But please, understand that I never meant to hurt you. You mean so much to me… you and Sango and Shippo and all the others."

Inuyasha continued to stand there looking at her, and t first, she was sure that he would just walk away. But instead he slowly came towards her, as if worried that he would frighten her. Kagome didn't move… whatever he did, she would except it.

"Inuyasha?" she called hoarsely. Her voice was edged with fear and nervousness. Wishing that she could hear his thoughts again…

He stepped forward and rubbed his head against the side of her cheek. That was all it took for her to break down crying again. She wrapped her arms around his thick fur and let the tears soak his fur. Just having him here made her heart soar.

"I love you," she whispered to him softly. "I never stopped…"

And they remained like that for a long time, her arms wrapped around his neck as he sat there with her. With Kagome wishing that they could find some other way for them to be together again… but for now, she supposed that this moment was enough.

**(I know that I've been taking a long time with this next chapter, but I've been busy in school. So sorry for the long wait, but the good news is that this story will be over soon. I really hope that you enjoyed it up till now.)**


	27. Reunion

_**Chapter 24: Reunion **_

**(You never know the powers of something magical until it's been tested. If you believe in magic then you know it can be very powerful. Even if you understand the trick, it still seems magical.)**

"Kagome?" called a familiar voice from far away. Kagome groaned and buried her head deeper into her blankets, wanting nothing more than to stay asleep.

"Kagome?" the voice repeated. "Can you wake up?"

Finally, Kagome's eyes cracked open a little bit. She blinked several times to get used to the bright light and she saw who it was who had awoken her.

"Hello, Kikyo," she said softly with a smile as she sat up.

"I don't have a lot of time, Kagome," Kikyo said. Kagome looked over at her in confusion, until she realized that she was wearing her coat and her suitcase was at her feet.

"You leaving?" she asked in surprise.

"Have to," Kikyo said. "I asked to come along with your family up here so that I could try and find out what happened to you. But now that you're back, I can head home. Kaede has been calling me, asking when I'll be able to come back."

Kaede was Kikyo's little sister, and Kagome knew that Kikyo must be missing her as well.

"I see," she said, trying not to sound upset. "Well, I guess that I'll be seeing you when we head back right?" she asked. "We'll be here for a little longer…"

"I guess," she answered, her eyes suddenly turning sad. This was something that Kagome noticed.

"What is it?" she asked, wondering why her best friend was looking at her like that.

"Nothing," was her answer. "I just wanted to come and make sure that you're ok before I head back."

Kagome looked at her with confusion. "I'm fine. Why?"

"It's just I heard howling last night, and when I looked out the window, I you with that silver wolf outside," she said knowingly.

"Oh," Kagome muttered embarrassed. Last night, after she had told Inuyasha everything, he had stayed with her for a long time and let her hug his warm neck. But once the moon started to go down, she finally pushed herself away—knowing that it was best that he leave before anyone saw him. After she forced him to go, she forced her aching body to crawl back into bed.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Kikyo asked in concern. "You haven't been the same since…?"

"Well, after living with wolves all this time, I guess so," Kagome sighed. "But I can't tell you. You'd think I was crazy."

"After all this?" Kikyo asked, raising her eyebrows and looking at her in amusement. "I probably would've if I didn't see you turn back into a human from a wolf. After that, I don't think anything you say could surprise me. Now what is wrong?"

"I can't explain, Kikyo," Kagome sighed, sounding a little frustrated now. "Because I don't know myself."

They sat in silence for a short time before Kikyo gave her a grim look and said so softly that she almost missed it, "You do know, the problem is that you don't want to tell me."

Kagome glanced up at her, trying to silently tell her what was in her heart with her eyes. Kikyo seemed to understand because she pulled her into a hug. "I see," she said. "That's why…"

"I know that he's not what you expected me to go for," she said, trying to make a joke.

"Kagome," Kikyo said soothingly. She pressed something into Kagome's hands and finished, "Don't be sad. Whatever you choose… I just want to let you know that I'll support you." She smiled kindly as she stood up. "Though, I have to say that you always did have unusual taste in men."

Kagome laughed as she watched Kikyo pick up her bag and gave her a small wave. "See you later then?" she called and Kikyo nodded.

"I'll leave that up to you," was her friend's answer as she turned and leave the room. Kagome sat there and stared long after Kikyo was gone, wondering just what Kikyo meant. She looked down at her hands to see what it was that she had given her, and wasn't at all surprised to see it.

It was the jewel…

*A few days later*

It was spring and the snow was gone, but nonetheless it was still chilly. But the trees in the forest were slowly starting to come back to life. The ugly muddy brown that surrounded them was slowly starting to turn back to green, and the scent of flowers was in the air. Finally, they were all about to head back home. The car was packed, and Kagome was standing next to her mom as she watched her dad hoist what was left of their traps and hunting gear, promising that he would drop them up at the dump when they got back home.

Kagome could only smile, her fingers in her pocket, playing with the jewel. She had mixed feelings here… she wanted to go home and live with her family of course… but at the same time she couldn't seem to bring herself to want to leave this forest. It had been her home for so long, and she didn't want to ever leave her friends here… especially without saying goodbye. Though, Inuyasha probably told them everything by now surly.

She sighed unhappily, her heart aching even worse at the thought of them thinking that she betrayed them. She turned her head to the forest trees…

Every day she came here, hoping to see Inuyasha waiting for her. Hell, at this point she wouldn't even mind him yelling at her, just so long as she could see his face again. But he never did… she hadn't seen him since that night.

'_Inuyasha…_' she called silently in her mind, wondering if he could still hear her even though they were so far away.

She was constantly plagued by questions she would never be able to answer. Tears flooded her vision for a minute, but she quickly wiped them away. '_Inuyasha… I've thought about you all the time since then.'_ She took a deep breath and tried to force those feelings away. But it just wasn't any good. She was stuck forever in this world… a world without him…

She could feel her throat tighten, burning from the unshed tears in her eyes. She felt so cold and empty all of a sudden. She closed her eyes, blocking everything else around her, trying to think of his face. '_I want to be with you…' _was her silent plea.

That was when she heard it… the sound of the wolves. Her eyes snapped open and she twisted around so suddenly that she almost fell. The sounds that she knew all too well… the sounds of the wind blowing through the trees, the footfalls of pad-like feet, and the light howl of the wolves calling for their friend.

She stood there in amazement… though she was no longer a wolf, she knew who it was and what it was that he was calling for. He was calling her back…

"Kagome?" her mother called, but Kagome didn't hear her as she ran off into the woods.

'_Inuyasha…'_ she thought desperately. _'Inuyasha… Inuyasha…'_

She couldn't bring herself to stop. She didn't know how, but she just knew that if she didn't come now, she would never get another chance. She had to see him… She ran for a sort way through the branches, running nowhere near as graceful as she had when she was still Moonsong. But that didn't matter. Just that she finally found herself standing along on the top of the hill, staring around her at the trees that were slowly coming back to life. And there he was. The silver wolf standing there, as if waiting for her.

"Inuyasha," she whispered in joy, tears coming back to her eyes. The wolf reared back his head and called to her, his voice echoing around her.

"Kagome!" she heard her mom calling from behind her, obviously having had chased after her, but Kagome didn't look back. She could only look in awe at the wolf before her.

"Kagome, what's wrong?" mom's voice panted as she ran up to her. Once she was up on the hill standing with her, she looked to see where her daughter was staring at and gasped. "Is that…?"

"Yes," Kagome whispered as Inuyasha continued to stare at her.

"Mama…" She finally managed to choke out. She had no idea what she was supposed to say to her—how to explain what it is that she needed to say. But she had a feeling that her mother might've understood for she felt her wrap her arms protectively around her.

"He wants me to come back," she whispered, her eyes filled with tears. "I can hear him…"

Her heart swelled, the tear in her heart finally stopped aching as she looked at the sky under which Inuyasha resided.

"Mama I'm…" Kagome said softly.

"Kagome…" she heard her mother say. She slowly turned her around, her hands on her shoulders as she looked at her sadly.

"I have to go mama. I don't belong here anymore." Kagome said softly. And it was true. She went through the daily motions of life, but no longer with the enthusiasm and gusto she had before… her mother smiled sadly, and kissed Kagome softly on the head.

"I know honey. Remember, we love you," she whispered as she tried to hold back her tears.

Kagome smiled blissfully, and murmured, "Tell everyone that I love them. She almost started bawling again. Her eyes started to fill up with tears again as she looked into the golden orbs of the man, or rather beast, that she loved.

She felt her hand slip out of her mother's grasp as she walked forward, her eyes only on Inuyasha; she felt the jewel in her hands slipping out of her hands as a warm feeling took over her body. She didn't know how it worked or why it did now, but she didn't care. For she knew what was happening.

Her footsteps fell on the ground, but as she put her left foot down, she felt her body arch forward and her hand came down to help her to run. Her right hand then came forward and helped her to push off as her back leg worked just as hard to get her to move.

She could hear gasping behind her, but she didn't mind. She only focused on the silver wolf that ran forward to greet her.

'_Inuyasha, I'm sorry… were you waiting?' _she said, in her head, wondering if he could hear her.

'_Kagome…'_ He breathed, staring at her with shock and confusion in his eyes. Kagome almost giggled. After all this time and she was still able to read his emotions like an open book. _'You idiot. What have you been up to?'_ Inuyasha whispered. Kagome almost drowned in his words, relishing the sound, the warmth, even his smell.

She rubbed her face against his.

'_I love you too,' _he said to her softly.

*Up on the hill*

Meanwhile, Mrs. Higurashi watched, tears of her own streaming down her face as she watched. Tears streamed down her face, and she continued to stare at the two wolves. That was when she heard running footsteps and they turned around, puffy eyed, to find Sota and her husband staring at her worriedly.

"What's wrong Mom? And, where's Kagome?" He asked. Mrs. Higurashi smiled and pulled him into a tight embrace.

"Kagome will be just fine, Sota," she said gently. "She said that she loves you all… but she knows where she belongs now."

Sota stared at her, not understanding what she was saying until he looked over and saw them. They looked up to see the two wolves.

"How…?" her husband whispered and she could only shake her head. "There's nothing that we can do now. Kagome wants it this way."

Dad looked up at her and then at the silver wolf. "You mean…?" he asked and she nodded.

"I don't believe this," he hissed, putting a hand up to his head.

"Now, dear," she smiled. "No one can tell us who to fall in love with right? At least she's happy isn't she?"

"Yeah," he muttered. "But I wish I never brought her on this stupid trip."

"Too late for that now," she laughed.

"Whatever," he sighed. Then he stepped forward and called out, "Oi! Quicksilver! Or whatever your name is! You better keep her safe!"

The wolf stared at him, as if startled that he was speaking to him.

"I'm trusting you against my better instincts only because I don't have a choice here," he went on. "I'll keep my promise and make sure that no one will be coming after you guys again, but if I find out that you aren't taking care of my little girl I might rethink that!"

Quicksilver stared at him before his mouth seemed to open in a smile and he then reared back his head and howled—as if to tell them that he understood. They watched as he slowly turned and left, with the black wolf getting ready follow. But before she did, she turned her head back to look at them all.

"Take care of yourself, Kagome!" Sota called, waving happily. "We'll come up to visit you! So don't worry!"

"We love you Kagome!" mom called, tears still in her eyes. "Take care of yourself!"

Kagome then turned to stare long and hard at her father. He raised his hand, took a deep breath and called, "Get going! Before I change my mind!"

She wagged her tell, and gave a long howl in farewell before she turned and followed her mate into the trees. Dad stood there for a long time, his hand still raised even long after he watched his daughter disappear. He had known he would have to let go of his daughter one day. But… he hadn't thought it would be like this.

"She'll be fine," Sota smiled, rubbing his red eyes. "I mean, she'll have all those other wolves to take care of her right? And this place will be a nature preserve. So there's nothing to worry about, right dad?"

"I know," he said, slowly letting his hand fall. "She's strong. I know that she'll be just fine. But still… not too many men can say that they have a wolf for a son-in-law."

"He was rather handsome," mom joked. "I can see why she fell for him. Oh, their puppies are going to be so cute."

**(What do you all think? Only one more chapter to go! I like to thank everyone here who supported and enjoyed this story up to this point and I'll get the epilogue up as soon as I can. Find out what happened to Inuyasha and Kagome along with the rest of the pack.)**


	28. Moonless Night

_**Chapter 25: Moonless Night**_

**(Sometimes things don't turn out how you expect them to, and things aren't what they seem to be… but sometimes, things could turn out to be far more amazing than you could ever imagine.)**

Months had passed since Kagome had made her choice and had rejoined the pack. She had run off with Inuyasha that day into the forest, her heart so full of freedom she thought that it would burst. To her astonishment, Inuyasha never told the others who she was and what she had been originally. Apparently, when they appeared at the new den, a few miles away from the old one, they had started to expect the worse.

Shippo, who had been crying since never came back, tackled her to the ground and cried as he laid down next to her that night. He had truly believed that he had lost his second mother.

When they demanded to know what happened when they left, Inuyasha said that he had run after Naraku and had finally been able to kill him in a one-on-one fight to the death. But once he finished him, he had been too badly injured to move so they had to wait until he could recover enough strength.

Sango and Miroku looked a little skeptical at first, but when Kagome went along with the story, they seemed to just accept it.

'_Well,'_ Miroku said. _'You both came back. That's really all that matters.'_

'_I do have some good news,' _Inuyasha yawned. _'Overheard a human girl say that her father was going to turn Areno Woods into a park or something like that.'_

'_A national park,' _Kagome laughed rubbing her head against his. _'A forest preserve.'_

'_What's that?' _Kohaku asked curiously.

'_It means,' _Kagome said happily._ 'You—we—don't have to worry about hunters coming here again.'_

'_Really?' _Sango gasped.

'_That's right,' _she laughed._ 'Hunting will be banned here. We can all live in peace without worrying about being killed.'_

'_So we don't need to go up the cliffs anymore?' _Shippo barked happily, almost dancing. '_We don't need to worry about scary humans coming here with those weapons?'_

She shook her head as she touched the end of his nose with her own. _'No,'_ she promised. _'We're free.'_

It was a celebration that day. To celebrate the end of hiding and running… celebrating the whole pack reuniting and a whole new life ahead of them all they talked and laughed the rest of day and well into the night. It was only when everyone else collapsed in exhaustion did Kagome get her chance.

She pushed herself back up and went out the den. It didn't take her long to find Inuyasha; she found him baying at the moon. She laughed as she went over to snuggle his face with her own, her body already used to this wolf shape again.

'_Why didn't you tell them?' _she asked.

'_Tell them what?'_ he question, his head still looking up at the countless stars.

She rolled her eyes. _'You know exactly what. About what I was before?'_

'_Doesn't matter anymore,' _he said, looking down at her. _'Thanks to you, we don't need to worry about it anymore.'_

'_But…?' _she began. _'It's my family's fault that Shippo's an orphan.'_

'_Yeah, and you did your best to raise him,'_ he answered her. _'Sure, he's a little monster, but hey… at least he's happy.'_

'_But I'm a human,'_ she reminded him._ 'And you really don't mind?'_

'_Could've fooled me,'_ he retorted looking at her_. 'You may have been born a human, but you aren't anymore. Inside you're a wolf.'_

She sat there with him by her side, thinking over what he just said before she leaned up against him. _'You're right,'_ she said softly. _'I'm a wolf… both inside and out…'_

And that's how it has been. The mating season had come and gone… and now it had been almost three months since that day.

It was one particular moonless night when Inuyasha was found pacing up and down in front of the den. Miroku was lying on the ground next to him with Shippo and Kohaku on either side—watching him.

'_Inuyasha,'_ Miroku complained. _'You can calm down. I know it's a long wait. But we can't rush anything. I'm sure that Kagome's fine.'_

'_Oh, shut up!'_ he barked at him. _'It's been since this afternoon! What's taking so long?'_

'_I know it's tough,' _Miroku told him in a soothing voice._ 'I remember when it was me out here waiting.'_

'_Just be patient,'_ Kohaku piped up. _'Sango's with her.'_

At that moment, they heard Sango's bark, _'Ok! You can up in now! Just be quiet though. I don't want to wake up the little ones!'_

Inuyasha froze in mid-pace as Miroku jumped up and laughed. _'That's how I reacted when Kagome told me that I could go in.'_

Shippo gave him a small nudge in the back and said in a teasing tone,_ 'Go on… dad…'_

Inuyasha took a quick snap at his tail, but the little wolf already went running off to hide behind the others. _'Pups…'_ he thought bitterly.

'_Hey!'_ Shippo called to him annoyed. '_I'm not a pup! I'm a full-fledged wolf!'_

'_Keep telling yourself that,' _he barked as he wandered into the den with a swish of his tail. He saw that Sango was already resting in a corner with her own brood of pups. She and Miroku had mated and it was only two weeks ago did Sango have three pups. Two girls… Satsuki and Koharu, and a boy… Hachi.

He glanced over them. The two girls were almost identical in color to their mother… and were already starting to wander the den on their tiny, little legs. The boy, who looked just like his father was sound asleep, curled up against his mother's side and snoring when his mother came back to him.

But he went immediately to the back of the den where Kagome was already curled up in a ball, on a bed of soft leaves. He sat down next to her and licked her ear, _'Kagome, it's me.'_

Kagome opened one of her eyes and raised her head up to feel his face. _'I was waiting for you,' _she said, sounding so tired._ 'I have some special someone's for you to meet_.'

He looked and was astonished to see them. Four… four pups all curled up against her side. She pushed the largest one with her nose. She was as black as night like her mother. _'She's the first…'_ she told him. _'I want to name her Kikyo. After my best friend… after all, if it hadn't been for the jewel she gave me, then we wouldn't be here now would we?'_

He didn't know what to do, so he bent down and sniffed her. He smiled at her scent, she smelt like him and like Kagome. _'She's beautiful,'_ was all he could say.

She smiled then pulled out another ball only this one was mostly black with some silver markings. _'This one is the only boy,' _she laughed._ 'And we're naming him Sota… after my brother.'_

'_And the other two?'_ he asked her as he stared at his son.

'_Two more girls,'_ she said. The next girl was the third to be born, and looked like her mother just like Kikyo. _'This one… I thought about her name… and I decided that I really like the name Hitomiko. And the runt of the litter…?'_ She then laughed as the final ball of fur rolled over onto her back and made little yelping sounds.

Inuyasha stared. _'She looks just like…'_

'_The spitting image of you,'_ she smiled. _'Shiori… that is gonna be her name. We have four pups… and I can tell that the youngest is going to be as troublesome as her papa.'_

The little silver pup went sniffing around, trying to find something warm to cuddle up too. Inuyasha laughed as he used his nose to push her closer to her mother. It was a tender moment as the new family sat together. Kagome nuzzled her head against Inuyasha, their tails intertwined with each other.

The two of them shared a special glance and reared back their heads to let out a single long howl… a song that echoed across the forest.

A song of welcoming a new family.

**The End**

**(And that is the end of this story. Thank you all for bearing with it for so long and I hope that the ending didn't disappoint you all.)**


End file.
